Mary Jane Veloso is reunited with her two sons and parents after she arriving at the Correctional Institution for Women in Manila on December 18, 2024. Ted Aljibe, AFP/file
MANILA - Mary Jane Veloso was released from the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City Friday night after she was granted absolute pardon by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Speaking to the media just before her release, Veloso showed the document of her absolute pardon.
She expressed her gratitude to Marcos for clearing her name and granting her absolute pardon.
She also thanked the President for giving her the chance to go back to her family and to make up for the time she was not able to spend with her children.
“Gusto ko pong iparating sa ating mahal na Pangulo, maraming maraming salamat po at nilinis po ninyo ‘yung pangalan ko. At pinayagan ninyo po akong makabalik muli sa pamilya ko, kasi sobrang hirap po talaga na mawalay sa pamilya. Hindi ko nasubaybayan ‘yung mga anak ko. Pero naniniwala po ako na hindi pa po huli ang lahat para gabayan ang mga anak ko,” she said.
“Maraming salamat po Presidnet Bongbong Marcos Jr., dahil kayo po ang ginamit ng panginoon para po matupad yung matagal ko nang idinadasal sa Panginoon. At ito po, ‘tong araw na ‘to, dumating na po siya. Ito po,” Veloso added.
Marcos signed Veloso’s absolute pardon on Sept. 24, 2026, after Malacanang said earlier that he was “seriously considering” the move on humanitarian grounds.
Veloso was transferred to Philippine custody in December 2024 after spending years detained in Indonesia, where she was sentenced to death for a drug trafficking conviction.
Her scheduled 2015 execution by firing squad was stayed at the last minute after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested on human trafficking charges and Veloso was named as a prosecution witness.
More details to follow.