Supporters thank ’emotional’ Pacquiao for visiting Mary Jane Veloso
Supporters and relatives of Mary Jane Veloso thanked boxing icon and Saranggani Rep. Manny Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee for lending support to Mary Jane by visiting her on death row.
Supporters and relatives of Mary Jane Veloso thanked boxing icon and Saranggani Rep. Manny Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee for lending support to Mary Jane by visiting her on death row.
“This means so much to the Veloso family, especially to her sons,” said Sol Pillas, secretary-general of Migrante International, which also dubbed Pacquiao as a “migrants’ champ” for championing migrant rights.
The Pacquiaos were reportedly emotional after visiting Mary Jane, who gave him a handwoven scarf with the boxing icon’s name woven into it.
They arrived in Yogjakarta, Indonesia on July 7 and was not immediately able to visit Mary Jane as his letter-request was still processed after they arrived.
Meanwhile, in Manila, the #SaveMaryJane Alliance and Mary Jane’s parents held a dialogue with Justice Sec. Leila de Lima to talk about updates on the criminal cases filed against Kristina “Tintin” Sergio and Julius Lacanilao.
“We have maintained at the onset that the charges against Sergio etal are solid. We celebrate this good news with Mary Jane, the Velosos, and all supporters of the #SaveMaryJane campaign around the world,” said Pillas.
The Department of Justice earlier announced it will file an illegal recruitment against Sergio and Lacanilao for allegedly duping Mary Jane into bringing illegal drugs into Indonesia in 2010.
Mary Jane’s supporters also held a liturgical gathering outside the DOJ led by Church Task Force to Save Mary Jane.
Mary Jane’s relatives and supporters in Nueva Ecija were also elated at the Regional Trial Court’s decision to junk the motion filed by Sergio and Lacanilao’s lawyers lawyers to quash the illegal recruitment case filed by other witnesses.
Mary Jane got a last minute reprieve from death row on April 29 after Migrante and other people’s organizations in the Philippines, Indonesia and across the world launched a frantic international campaign to save her life.
She was arrested in Yogjakarta in 2010 after airport authorities discovered 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her luggage. Mary Jane claimed innocence, saying that former family friend Sergio gave her the luggage hid the illegal drugs in her luggage.
