MANILA, April 2, 2015— A large alliance of Christian churches has rallied the people to pray for Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina on death row in Indonesia.
As Christians observe the Holy Week, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) are hopeful that Veloso “will triumph over this darkness in her life.”
“We also bring Mary Jane’s case to the public’s attention and the churches around the world. Let us join together in praying and calling on the Indonesian government to heed the appeal by the United Nations and various governments for clemency,” said NCCP General Secretary Fr. Rex RB. Reyes, Jr.
The 30-year-old single mother from Nueva Ecija was sentenced to die by firing squad for alleged drug trafficking.
No to another Flor Contemplacion
The interfaith group believes that Veloso was not provided proper legal assistance, her case not thoroughly investigated.
It lamented that Veloso was allegedly provided only with a translator, but not a defense lawyer, noting it is the same thing that happened to Flor Contemplacion.
NCCP said they do not want more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to die in government failure and neglect.
“We thus appeal to the government to immediately take action to save the life of Mary Jane. We echo the call of our migrant sisters and brothers: ‘we do not want another Flor Contemplacion!’” said Reyes.
Two decades after
It had only been few weeks since advocates of migrant workers’ rights commemorated the 20th year of Contemplacion’s execution.
“It is the same circumstance that many Filipinos who are now on death row overseas find themselves in, especially in the Middle East. Twenty years and nothing has changed, the same government neglect that caused the death of Flor Contemplacion in 1995 is still the main reason why many OFWs are on death row,” he added.
NCCP also believes Veloso should not be executed, stressing she is only a victim of an organized criminal drug syndicate who was tricked her into a job offer in Indonesia. (Raymond A. Sebastián)