Got a tip? Send it to us at manila@coconuts.co.
UPDATE (9:14pm, April 28): Mary Jane Veloso’s execution could be anytime after 9pm, Manila time. According to Manila Bulletin, “the Philippine ambassador to Indonesia [Lumen Isleta] said he expects the turnover of Veloso’s remains around 2am, Indonesia time.”
BREAKING: @dfaspokesperson says execution of Mary Jane #Veloso “could be any time after 9pm, Manila Time. #MaryJane | @NCorralesINQ
— Inquirer Group (@inquirerdotnet) April 28, 2015
==
At 8:46pm on Tuesday, Philippine ambassador to Indonesia Lumen Isleta has confirmed that the execution process of Mary Jane Veloso and the eight other drug convicts has begun.
JUST IN: PHL Ambassador to Indonesia Lumen Isleta says the process of the execution is already beginning | via @dzbb
— GMA News (@gmanews) April 28, 2015
An hour before that announcement, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has asserted that Indonesia’s stance on the execution has been clear.
Inquirer.net quoted the Minister as saying, “We have conveyed all messages. We have conveyed the Attorney General’s [HM Prasetyo] statement that Indonesia’s stance on the executions will not change. So I think we will not discuss this matter again.” The minister was quoted by Antara, as she accompanied Vice President Jusuf Kalla in Langkawi, Malaysia, on Tuesday.
A separate Inquirer report notes that the firing squads “were ready and could be dispatched straightaway to the execution site once the execution orders were issued.”
No exact time was mentioned.
On Tuesday afternoon, a few hours before they were supposed to be executed, Indonesia president Widodo called for a closed-door meeting, following news of the surrender of Veloso’s recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio.
