The Office of the Executive Secretary is currently examining the legal implications of the clemency appeal filed by detained overseas Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso, Malacañang said Tuesday.
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said the review is being conducted following discussions between Philippine officials and Indonesian representatives regarding Veloso’s request for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to grant her freedom so she can reunite with her family.
“We’ve spoken with the OES and they said they will study the provisions and the minutes of the meeting with Indonesia. The prerogative of the President will be followed,” Castro said in Filipino during a Palace briefing.
Castro added that the OES is looking into whether any existing laws may be violated should the government act on Veloso’s appeal.
“They will check if any law would be broken and, again, it is the president’s prerogative whatever action would be taken moving forward,” she said.
Veloso was convicted in Indonesia on drug-related charges and sentenced to death in October 2010, but Indonesian authorities later agreed to repatriate her to the Philippines to serve the remainder of her sentence.
She previously received a reprieve following multiple appeals made by the Philippine government during the administration of former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
Veloso returned to the Philippines in December 2024 and remains detained at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City.
