Caritas Philippines has called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to grant clemency and release Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina migrant worker and human trafficking victim who has been imprisoned for over 15 years.
“In the spirit of the Jubilee Year of Hope,” the Church’s social action arm said it is making an “urgent appeal” to the president to act on Veloso’s case, describing her continued detention as “unjust.”
Mary Jane Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 after being duped by illegal recruiters into unknowingly carrying drugs.
She was sentenced to death, but her execution was postponed in 2015 following international outcry. Veloso returned to the Philippines in December 2024 but remains in detention.
“Mary Jane was trafficked in 2010 under the false promise of overseas employment. Deceived by illegal recruiters and unknowingly carrying drugs, she was arrested in Indonesia and sentenced to death,” the group said.
“Despite her return to the Philippines in December 2024, Mary Jane remains in detention, a continued injustice for someone who has long been recognized as a trafficking victim,” it added.
Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, Vice President of Caritas Philippines, said Veloso represents the essence of the Jubilee Year’s call for “mercy, justice, and hope.”
“In this Jubilee Year—a sacred time to restore balance, return land, forgive debts, and set captives free—Mary Jane represents the very soul of what Jubilee demands from us: mercy, justice, and hope,” he said.
The bishop also stressed that clemency would allow Veloso to fully testify against her traffickers.
“We are confident that Mary Jane will testify against her traffickers,” Alminaza said. “But her freedom through clemency will offer the calm and clarity she needs to do so. She poses no threat to society. She is a victim of grave injustice—a naive migrant preyed upon by criminal recruiters, and a mother who only wanted to provide for her children.”
Caritas Philippines joined other advocates in urging President Marcos to demonstrate “moral leadership and compassion” by granting Veloso an absolute pardon.
