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[av_heading heading=’Solons: Veloso is innocent’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY Prince Golez, Manila Reporter
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MANILA – Sen. Ralph Recto shares he genuinely believes that Mary Jane Veloso, who was found guilty of smuggling 2.8 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia in 2010, is innocent and deserves clemency.
“Mary Jane Veloso was not a drug lord. She was not even a user. On the contrary, she was used to smuggle drugs without her knowledge,” the senate minority leader said.
Once executed, Veloso, 30, will no longer be able to testify against the members of an international syndicate who used her in transporting drugs.
Her execution was held off in 2015 after the Philippine government vowed to go after Veloso’s recruiters. The Filipina overseas Filipino worker also agreed to give her testimony against those who trafficked her.
“She is an irreplaceable witness in exposing the inner workings of a drug route. She dies and the truth will be buried with her,” the senator said.
For her part, Sen. RisaHontiveros asked President Rodrigo Duterte to “defend” and “save the life” of Veloso.
Duterte has been urged to “pursue all effective channels” for her permanent removal from death row.
“The government must see that Mary Jane is a victim, not a perpetrator of drug smuggling,” Hontiveros added.
Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Escudero defended Duterte’s stand on the execution of the migrant worker.
During his meeting President JokoWidodo last Friday, Duterte told his Indonesian counterpart to “implement your law, follow your own law” in connection with Veloso’s case.
“We unrelentingly appealed for her case. But we are in a unique position now because the administration is batting for death penalty for drugs,” Escudero said.
But, the senator appealed to the government to exhaust all available remedies and steps to stop or delay Veloso’s execution./PN
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