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One life saved and many more waiting for help.
“Following the temporary reprieve given by the Indonesian authorities to Mary Jane Veloso, the Philippine government on Wednesday, April 29, thanked Indonesian President Joko Widodo,” reports InterAksyon.com.
The report noted: “Palace spokesman Herminio Coloma said the Philippine government expressed its gratitude for the reprieve, and said Philippine authorities will pursue their case against the drug traffickers who fooled Veloso into carrying 2.6 kilos of heroin into Indonesia in 2010.”
For his part Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario reiterated the Philippine government’s “strong commitment to pursue full investigation of those accountable for the victimization of Mary Jane.”
But Veloso’s case isn’t the only one.
In a GMA News Online report by Rie Takumi, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that there are 88 Filipinos in death row. The DFA provided the following numbers:
Saudi Arabia: 28 (26 for murder and one for drugs)
Malaysia: 34 (17 for murder, 16 for drug trafficking; 28 cases in Sabah, 6 in Peninsular Malaysia)
China: 21 (all for drugs)
USA: 2 (both for murder)
Vietnam: 2 (both for drugs)
Kuwait: 1 (for murder)
Indonesia: 1 (for drugs)
Thailand: 1 (for murder, rape, and theft)
The report cited DFA spokesperson Charles Jose, who told GMA News Online through email that “Filipinos in China have a two-year reprieve during which they may have their death sentence commuted to life imprisonment for good behavior.”
Photo: Stock
