CLAD in a black t-shirt and clutching a neck pillow she could conveniently use during her flight home to the Philippines, drug convict Mary Jane Veloso was transferred to a Jakarta prison from Yogyakarta. Arrested in 2010 for carrying 2.6 kg of heroin in an Indonesian airport, Veloso had been on death row for more than 14 years.
In fact, she narrowly escaped the firing squad in 2015, spared only by a last-minute reprieve.
But now, no less than Indonesia Immigration at Corrections Deputy Coordinator Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram confirmed that Veloso would indeed be home today, Dec. 18.
Representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Bureau of Corrections, and the National Bureau of Investigation have flown to Indonesia to make the final transfer arrangements for Veloso.
Veloso hails from a family of overseas Filipino workers, some of whom still contemplated working abroad even after her arrest. We can imagine the elation felt by Veloso’s family, especially her children, who were merely one and six years old when their mother was arrested.
Her homecoming at Christmas comes as bittersweet – she will not be a free woman when she arrives, but at least she would be closer to her loved ones. There is no word on how close she could be to actual freedom even as it has been demonstrated that she was only a victim of trafficking and was duped into being a drug courier.
Thus, barring any other unforeseen circumstances, Veloso would land on Philippine soil today.
She had lost all hope, Veloso told the Associated Press in an interview, where she likened her homecoming to a miracle.
It turns out miracles could happen, even as one could look at them as the result of a series of fortuitous events that merely served to correct a wrong. Miracles are the exception and not the rule, so we cannot rely on miracles while living in a society plagued with ills. Ills like, millions of Filipinos feeling like they have no other option for a better life except to expose themselves to risk and desolation working in another country. Feeling indebted to those who pose as do-gooders but who in fact put them in harm’s way for their own gain.
Veloso only rose to prominence because of her death conviction – how many more find themselves in desperate situations without their countrymen ever learning of their predicament and clamoring for action? Veloso’s story is not unique by all means. Filipino workers desperate for work would embrace any opportunity and trust others easily. They would not find the wherewithal to be critical of any offers, if only to protect themselves.
Veloso’s homecoming should be a powerful reminder that we still owe the majority our people economic security. May our leaders think less of their political squabbles and potential gains from funds entrusted to them, and instead work toward ensuring the unfortunate events that preceded this “miracle” would no longer be repeated.
