Duterte to tackle Mary Jane’s plight with Indonesian president

MANILA, Philippines – The case of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina sentenced to death by an Indonesian court for drug trafficking, will be in President Duterte’s agenda in his working visit to Indonesia on Sept. 8-9.

Duterte, who has initiated a bloody war on illegal drugs, will discuss the issue with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in the hopes of getting a reprieve or even a pardon for the Filipina death convict.

Duterte’s Indonesia visit will come after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Laos.

“We have prisoners there. Many of them were imprisoned because of drugs, even Veloso,” he told Filipino migrant workers who arrived from Saudi Arabia yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2.

“I’m praying that I could do something for her,” he said.

Veloso was sentenced to death for trafficking illegal drugs in 2010. She was supposed to be executed by firing squad in April last year but was given a temporary reprieve after her trafficker Maria Kristina Sergio surrendered to Philippine authorities.

Her current status is unclear although she is still in the death row.

The President said he is already preparing for his first trip abroad as President, which kicks off with a state visit to Brunei on Sept. 4 to 5, during which he will meet with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.

The President is also expected to meet with the Filipino community in Brunei before proceeding to Laos for the ASEAN Summit.

The activities in Laos will reportedly include the usual meetings on political-security, economic and socio-cultural issues.

In the ASEAN summit, Duterte will have the opportunity to have bilateral meetings with other leaders like those of Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

The President is also set to accept the chairmanship of the ASEAN next year in the Laos summit.

The chairmanship will be officially handed over by Laos to the Philippines in line with the regional grouping’s system of annually rotating chairmanship.