Manila, Philippines, 11 Dzulhijjah 1437/13 September 2016 (MINA) – Jakarta should “follow its law” in dealing with Filipina migrant worker Mary Jane Veloso and Manila will not interfere, President Duterte told his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo, The Star reported.
Indonesian law imposes capital punishment for drug trafficking. Veloso is on death row for smuggling 2.6 kilos of heroin to Yogyakarta from Malaysia in April 2010.
Did Duterte give Indonesia the green light for Veloso’s execution?
Not quite, Malacañang and Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. insisted Monday.
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What Duterte told Widodo last week in Jakarta, according to presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella, was: “Follow your own laws. I will not interfere.”
Abella stressed that Duterte did not agree to Veloso’s execution: “There was no endorsement.”
Asked if Duterte appealed for clemency for Veloso, Abella replied, “We are not privy to that. They will proceed with their own laws.”
Yasay, for his part, stressed that Veloso’s execution has been deferred indefinitely.
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The Indonesian Attorney General’s Office approved the indefinite deferment last April while waiting for the conclusion of criminal proceedings initiated against Veloso’s Filipino recruiters.(T/R07/R0)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
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