Are you a Filipino artist? Part of a cultural group or institution? Sign on to our statement: https://bit.ly/artists4maryjane
Full and absolute clemency for Mary Jane Veloso now!
We, the undersigned Filipino artists, including musicians, poets, writers, authors, actors, directors, theater practitioners, visual artists, filmmakers, and cultural workers, stand in unwavering support and solidarity for Mary Jane Veloso. We call on President Marcos Jr. to release Mary Jane from the Correctional Institute for Women in the Philippines by full and absolute executive clemency.
On December 18, 2024, Mary Jane Veloso, a victim of labour trafficking, was transferred by the Indonesian government to the Philippines after 15 years in prison, 10 of those years on death row in Indonesia. From the prison in Indonesia, the Philippine government transferred her to a Philippine prison instead of granting Mary Jane Veloso the freedom she deserves.
Mary Jane serves as a poignant testament of the systemic failures that continue to victimize Filipino migrant workers such as economic precarity, exploitative labor conditions, and the government’s persistent neglect, if not abandonment, of its own citizens.
This year marks the 30th death anniversary of Filipino domestic worker Flor Contemplacion, who was falsely convicted and then executed by hanging in Singapore on March 17, 1995. Her death ignited national and global indignation. Flor Contemplacion continues to be a symbol of the thousands of Filipino men and women forced to leave their families behind to work abroad, only to become entangled in the web of human trafficking and exploitation.
As Filipino artists, we are confident in the strength of our collective voices to advocate for truth, justice, and freedom. We have long employed our artwork, music, writing, poetry, films, artistic performances, and visual productions as instruments of solidarity and resistance.
Today, we employ our collective voices and skills to call on Philippine President Marcos, Jr. to grant full and absolute clemency to Mary Jane Veloso. Her freedom from prison is long overdue. Her traffickers have been arrested, convicted and serving their sentences in prison. Why is Mary Jane, the victim of these labor traffickers, still in jail?
As we mark 30 years since the unjust execution of Flor Contemplacion and the continuing imprisonment of Mary Jane Veloso, 15 years and counting, we call on all Filipino artists wherever they are, to stand with Mary Jane Veloso and her fight to be free. In doing so, we also shine a light on the other migrant workers who are victims of labour trafficking and migrant workers who are imprisoned in foreign jails.
In signing this statement, we also urge fellow artists, cultural institutions, and the international community to join us, spread the call to end Mary Jane unjust and continuing imprisonment, and use our skills as artists for freedom, truth and justice.
Are you a Filipino artist? Part of a cultural group or institution? Sign on to our statement: https://bit.ly/artists4maryjane
