Govt won’t press Indonesia for Mary Jane’s return for probe in PHL

While she prefers that Mary Jane Veloso will return to the Philippines to personally testify in the criminal complaints against her recruiters and alleged drug traffickers, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Monday said it was the last option the government was considering to get her sworn statements in the said cases.

De Lima said the first option was to have Veloso come up with a deposition or an out-of-court written testimony, and the second was to have the 30-year-old OFW appear in a video conference.

Last week, the Indonesian government had already rejected an earlier request from the Philippine government for Veloso to physically appear in the May 8 and 14 preliminary investigation in the Department of Justice in Manila.

Instead, the Indonesian government seemed amenable only to the first two options, saying Veloso would only be allowed to appear via video conference or to submit a written testimony.

De Lima said the Indonesian government's decision not to allow Veloso to return to the Philippines will do for now. Veloso was convicted of smuggling 2.6 kilos of heroin into Indonesia in 2010.

"May options kasi iyan and that could be part of our request for MLAT. Ngayon kasi preliminary investigation pa lang. Later... kapag tapos na ang PI at may finding of probable cause and if it reaches trial, baka mayroon kaming supplemental request," De Lima said.

"At this early I asked the [investigators] already to establish the three options. One, by deposition. Two, via video testimony and three, and last option is iyong personal siyang papuntahin dito," she added.

Veloso's loved ones, particularly her mother Celia, have criticized the government for supposedly attending to the case too little, too late.

In a news conference upon their return from Indonesia following the postponement of her execution, Celia claimed the government tried to fool the family into believing that it was President Benigno Aquino III who caused the last-minute reprieve.

"Tingin namin mahirap kumbinsihin ang Indonesian government with respect to the third option. Puwede naman iyong first two options. Huwag na nating pilitin iyong third option," De Lima said of working for Veloso's return to the country.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said that the reprieve was only a postponement of the execution pending the case against Veloso's recruiters.

De Lima said the Philippine government will continue to respect Indonesian law, even as she appealed to the public not to be too "demanding" with the Indonesian government.

"I should emphasize na bagama't ginagawa natin ito, kailangan respetuhin natin ang batas at ang sistema ng Indonesia. Hindi puwedeng masyado tayong mag-demand ng kung anu-ano," said De Lima.

"So, kung ano iyong kaya nating gawin at kaya nating makuha from Indonesia, gagawin natin iyan para makatulong tayo kay Mary Jane," she added.

Under the ASEAN MLAT, Veloso may be allowed to return to the Philippines to assist in the investigation on her alleged illegal recruiters, but subject to Indonesia's approval

But international law expert Harry Roque, Jr. said Veloso' death sentence made her return to the Philippines difficult.

"[Veloso] would probably be not allowed [to return]. It would be impossible given that she is on death row," Roque had said.

De Lima earlier admitted that it would be difficult to convince the Indonesian government to allow the OFW to return to the Philippines to personally help in the investigation.

The option to allow a person in a requested country to travel to a requesting country is stipulated under Article 15 of the 2004 Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance (MLAT) in Criminal Matters:

"The Requested Party may, subject to its domestic laws and practices, agree to allow a person in custody in the Requested Party, subject to his consent, to be temporarily transferred to the Requesting Party to give evidence or to assist in the investigations."

Veloso's execution via firing squad was postponed early Wednesday morning after Indonesia agreed to let the OFW testify in the pending criminal complaint against her alleged recruiters Maria Kristina, Julius Lacanilao, and a certain Ike. The case is being handled by the Department of Justice.

The Jakarta Post earlier reported that the letter from the Philippine government requesting Veloso to be flown back to the Philippines to testify was dated April 28, the day she was supposed to be executed by firing squad—along with eight other drug convicts. -NB, GMA News