Former overseas Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso is released from the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City on Friday, September 25, 2026, after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. granted her an absolute pardon. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is deploying a team to Nueva Ecija to lay the groundwork for comprehensive reintegration assistance for Mary Jane Veloso after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. granted her an absolute pardon.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac ordered the immediate mission to coordinate directly with Veloso's family and local stakeholders to develop a tailored assistance package.
READ: Mary Jane Veloso released from prison after Marcos pardon
"Our instructions are clear: the DMW must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Mary Jane, her children, and her parents as they rebuild their lives," Cacdac said.
The agency, alongside the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), will mobilize psychosocial counseling, livelihood starter kits, enterprise capital, and skills training. Veloso's planned business ventures will be linked directly to local cooperatives and municipal economic programs in Nueva Ecija.
"Reintegration is not merely about coming home—it is about restoring dignity, ensuring financial self-sufficiency, and enabling Mary Jane to contribute to her local community and economy," Cacdac added.
The DMW welcomed the executive clemency, describing it as a "definitive, triumphant end to a grueling, decades-long ordeal" to reclaim Veloso's liberty.
Veloso reunited with her family early Saturday morning, walking free from the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City shortly after 12 midnight.
READ: After 17 years, Mary Jane Veloso reunites with her family
Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 after being duped into carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms of heroin. She spent nearly 15 years on death row before her execution was stayed in 2015 when Philippine authorities recognized her as a human trafficking victim.
She was later repatriated to the Philippines to serve out her sentence before receiving the presidential pardon.
The DMW noted that Veloso's case illustrates the "non-punishment principle" for trafficking victims, ensuring that individuals exploited by human traffickers do not suffer punitive legal consequences for acts committed as a result of their trafficking.
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