[Rappler’s Best] Mary Jane Veloso and Duterte’s snub

Former OFW and human trafficking victim Mary Jane Veloso reunites with her family after Thanksgiving Mass at Siena College Chapel in Quezon City on September 26, 2026. Angie de Silva/Rappler The third president (of the Philippines and Indonesia) to see through the Mary Jane case is Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prabowo Subianto — the irony of ironies Mary Jane Veloso, a victim of human trafficking, was released after 16 years in prison, highlighting the importance of advocacy and media support in her case. Her journey involved multiple Philippine presidents and international efforts to secure her clemency, culminating in a pardon granted by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The political landscape shifted with the election of Rodrigo Duterte, who did not pursue efforts to save her, contrasting with the previous administration's active involvement. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. It’s World News Day today, and there’s no better way to celebrate it than to take stock of why we do what we do. Human trafficking victim Mary Jane Veloso — freed on Friday, September 25, after 16 long years in jail — is one of our whys. And the newly launched Muni platform enables us to do more, and do better. Mary Jane’s journey spans presidents, countries, contexts, societies. At some point, it brought together the Aquino administration, citizens, journalists, a global community, and a social media platform that had not yet turned against public good. To us and to many Filipinos, she would not be another Flor Contemplacion. In her first and heartfelt interview after her release, Mary Jane told Rappler’s Jairo Bolledo that the truth set her free and that she wants to talk about this to inspire others. She finished high school from prison through alternative learning, and even ended up getting chosen as “dorm in charge” at the women’s correctional here. More than this, she’s grateful to the public and to the media for staying with her story. Watch it here. When an Indonesian court sentenced Mary Jane to death by firing squad over drug smuggling in October 2010, the late president Noynoy Aquino was just four months into his presidency, while his Indonesian counterpart, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was just about to enter the second year of his second term as president. The Yudhoyono administration’s first term saw the execution of at least a dozen convicts amid his country’s stiff law against drug offenders, one of the harshest in the world. Aquino took various steps to save Mary Jane from the death row: legal, diplomatic, political. Yudhoyono’s successor in 2014, Joko Widodo (or Jokowi), held promise as a reformist, but in January 2015, barely six months into the job, he signed off on the execution of six people convicted of drug offenses, including five foreigners. Nonetheless, Aquino wrote to Jokowi, asking for clemency for Mary Jane. It was the Philippine president’s third letter to the Indonesian government on Veloso’s behalf, according to this story. But Jokowi rejected all requests for clemency from foreign governments. In April 2015, the Aquino government filed a second petition for judicial review with the Indonesian Supreme Court, insisting that Mary Jane was a trafficking victim, a fact that no less than the Indonesian National Commission on Violence Against Women had certified to. The petition was denied. And then a date was set for Mary Jane’s execution: April 29, 2015. At this point, something beautiful happened: the Aquino administration, lawyers, citizens, journalists, and supporters from more than 120 countries came together to #SaveMaryJane. We wrote about the massive online campaign and Aquino’s pivotal phone call here, which led to #MaryJaneLives and raised hopes for her freedom. The winds changed in 2016, however, when Rodrigo Duterte was elected president and mounted a bloody war on drugs, drawing admiration from his hardliner counterparts in Indonesia. Before his working visit to Indonesia in September 2016, Duterte said he’d seek clemency for Mary Jane. He did not. In fact, Jokowi announced that Duterte had given him the permission to proceed with the execution, as reported by foreign and local media. Malacañang was quick to deny Duterte had given a go signal, saying that he merely said he would not interfere. Indeed, throughout his term, Duterte made no public effort to save Mary Jane from the death row. It was “time wasted,” said Migrante International chairperson Joanna Concepcion. But the third time’s the charm. The third president (of the Philippines and Indonesia) to see through the Mary Jane case is Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prabowo Subianto, with the latter agreeing to send her home in December 2024, which paved the way for Marcos granting her absolute pardon on Thursday, September 24. The irony of ironies is that the two presidents had come from a dark past. Marcos — the son of the dictator who was ousted by a peaceful revolution in 1986 and whose family lived in exile in the US. Prabowo — a dreaded army general under the regime of his father-in-law, Suharto, who was overthrown in 1998 after a three-decade rule. Asked to comment on Marcos’ pardon, Vice President Sara Duterte, always publicly rooting for the underdog, found herself in a pickle this time and thus showed nonchalance. It’s his prerogative as president, she quipped. Speaking of the Vice President, her legal team suffered a blow last week when majority senators voted to lower the threshold for conviction in her impeachment trial — basing it on the number of senators who are able to attend the trial, not all who have been elected. Three of her allies have not had any access to the trial from the start: senators Marcoleta and Jinggoy Estrada are in jail, while Bato dela Rosa is at large. Another ally, Senator Loren Legarda, is medicating (and perhaps meditating, who knows?) abroad. The bigger news, however, was the Villar siblings’ act. Senator Mark Villar, until last week, had been voting with the Duterte-allied minority. On the minority’s motion to have the threshold issue tackled by the Supreme Court and not the impeachment court, Villar abstained. On whether to lower the threshold, he voted yes. How come? James Patrick Cruz gives us the inside track. Senator Camille Villar, meanwhile, cried copious tears. Watch Paterno Esmaquel’s news reflection. Here are some of Rappler’s bests that you shouldn’t miss: Den Somera cites the risks in the Marcos government’s “people-centered” 2027 budget. James Patrick Cruz goes to a town in Bulacan that continues to suffer from lack of water due to the failed PrimeWater business of the Villars. Gelo Gonzales takes apart a House bill that grants Congress and the executive sweeping powers over online activities. Chito dela Vega pays tribute to journalism’s gems: the late Eggie Apostol and Recah Trinidad. – Rappler.com Rappler’s Best is a weekly Rappler+ exclusive newsletter of our top picks delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Visit rappler.com/newsletters to subscribe. The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Rappler. How does this make you feel? Loading