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“Indonesian President Joko Widodo was sympathetic when he heard President Benigno Aquino III’s appeal for the life of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina who has been sentenced to death in Indonesia over drug charges,” reports Andreo Calonzo on GMA News Online.
The report noted: “Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma issued the statement on Monday, April 27, after Aquino personally appealed to Widodo for ‘humanitarian consideration’ this morning at the sidelines of the 26th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Malaysia.”
Coloma explained: “President Aquino talked with Indonesian President Widodo earlier this morning and appealed for humanitarian consideration for Mary Jane Veloso, who was apparently duped into being an unwitting carrier of illegal drugs. He said President Widodo was sympathetic.”
Coloma then added that “Widodo, who reportedly talked with Aquino for five minutes, consulted with Indonesia’s attorney general on legal issues, and pledged to resume conversations with Aquino on Veloso’s case later in the day.”
In another press briefing in Malacañang, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Philippine government “is hoping that Widodo will have a ‘change of heart’ about Veloso’s execution.”
The report pointed out that “Aquino has written to the Indonesian president twice in the past to appeal for Veloso’s life.” He likewise made the same plea to Widodo during the latter’s state visit to Manila earlier this year.
However, as the report indicated, “Widodo earlier rejected an appeal for clemency for Veloso, saying that countries with nationals facing death sentence in Indonesia, including the Philippines, should respect Indonesia’s death penalty stance.”
Photo: Malacañang Photo Bureau
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