“MALAYO pa tayo doon.”

This was the response of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on the possibility of granting clemency to death row convict Mary Jane Veloso.

“We still have to look at really what their status is,” Marcos said in an ambush interview in Pasay City.

Marcos said that while the Indonesian government did not make any condition following Veloso’s return to the Philippines, he said reviewing her case is still at the very preliminary stage.

“We still have to have a look at really what her status is. And then of course, we’re aware of the request for clemency from her — the presented [unclear] of course, from her family,” Marcos said.

Veloso hoped Marcos would grant her executive clemency.

“And we will leave it to the legal judgement — the judgment of our legal experts to determine whether the provision of clemency is appropriate,” Marcos said.

“So, we’ll have to look at the — wala namang kondisyon ang binigay ‘yung Indonesia. So, it’s really up to us. But we’re still at the very preliminary stage of her paguwi,” the President added.

Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 and was sentenced to death in the same year after 2.6 kg. of heroin were found in her suitcase.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Chona Yu