President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is seriously considering granting an absolute pardon to Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipino former overseas worker who spent years in Indonesian custody after being convicted of drug trafficking.
The Office of the President confirmed the development after Bataan 2nd District Rep. Albert Raymond Garcia disclosed during House budget deliberations that Malacañang was seriously considering the pardon on humanitarian grounds and in support of the government’s commitment to protecting Filipino migrant workers.
Garcia said an announcement could be made within the next few days. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro later confirmed that the President was considering the grant but said she could not provide specific details or a definite timetable.
Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 after authorities discovered about 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her luggage. She was sentenced to death in 2015 and came close to execution before receiving a reprieve following an appeal by the Philippine government.
Her case has long drawn attention from Philippine officials and migrant-worker advocates. Veloso has maintained that she was deceived by her recruiter and that she did not knowingly carry illegal drugs. Her recruiter was later arrested and faced charges related to illegal recruitment, human trafficking and estafa.
In December 2024, Indonesia and the Philippines reached an agreement allowing Veloso to return to the Philippines. She was transferred to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, where she remains detained while serving the remainder of her sentence.
The possible pardon follows renewed appeals from Veloso and her family for executive clemency. The House of Representatives has also previously passed a resolution urging Marcos to consider granting her clemency.
Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the President has the power to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons after conviction by final judgment, subject to constitutional limitations. The Palace has said the government has been reviewing the legal provisions surrounding Veloso’s case and its implications for Philippine-Indonesian relations.
Castro said the Philippine government does not need Indonesia’s approval to grant a pardon because Veloso is now serving her sentence in the Philippines. She also declined to confirm whether the decision would come before Christmas, saying it could happen earlier but that the President would make the announcement.
For Veloso and her family, the possible absolute pardon could mark a major development in a case that has lasted more than 16 years since her arrest. For now, however, no final pardon has been announced, and the decision remains with the President.
