Indonesia is not asking the Philippines for any favors in exchange for the repatriation of convicted overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Mary Jane Veloso, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said Wednesday, Nov. 20.
“There are a lot of speculations as to what the return or what was the condition. The Indonesians have not requested any payback for this. May I clarify, this is not in return for anything,” De Vega said in a Palace briefing.
He made the remarks after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed optimism about Veloso’s return to the Philippines. Veloso, convicted for drug trafficking in Indonesia in 2010, has been on a death row in Indonesia for 14 years.
“After over a decade of diplomacy and consultations with the Indonesian government, we managed to delay her execution long enough to reach an agreement to finally bring her back to the Philippines,” the President said early Wednesday on his official X account.
De Vega emphasized Veloso’s case remains “a work in progress” for Indonesia.
“When she gets here, if she gets here, she will not immediately be released. It means, we will commit to detain her until such time that [there’s a] mutual agreement that she could be given clemency,” he explained.
“But at least, she would be here,” he added.IMT
