Mary Jane Veloso case: Timeline of Events
Prepared by Migrante International and the National Union of People’s Lawyers
Updated as of June 10, 2015
2010
January – Mary Jane returned to the Philippines after working for ten months as a domestic worker in Dubai. She returned to Manila without finishing her two-year contract because the cook of her employer attempted to rape her.
April 18 – Mary Jane was approached by her godsister Ma. Kristina “Tintin” Sergio, a resident of Talavera, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, and was promised a job as a domestic worker in Malaysia. She was illegally recruited.
April 21 – Mary Jane and Tintin left for Malaysia. When they arrived in Malaysia, Tintin told her that the supposed job was no longer available but she could still find work elsewhere. They stayed there for a few days before Tintin sent her to Indonesia allegedly for a seven-day holiday, after which she would go back to Malaysia for employment.
April 25 – Mary Jane was apprehended by the Customs and Excise Authorities at the Audisucipto International Airport in Yogjakarta, Indonesia, upon arrival due to alleged possession of 2.6 kilograms of heroin supposedly secretly stashed in a bag given to her by the brother of Tintin’s boyfriend in Malaysia without Mary Jane’s knowledge, consent or intention.
April 27 – Mary Jane’s parents received a call from her in-laws informing them that Mary Jane arrived safely in Malaysia. They visited Tintin in Talavera and she told them that Mary Jane’s employer was “very kind”. Tintin also gave them clothes and milk, supposedly bought by Mary Jane for her youngest son, Mark Darren.
May 9 – Mary Jane called her family to wish her father a happy birthday.
May 11 – Mary Jane’s sister Darling received a cryptic text message from her telling her to take care of her children.
May 12 – Darling received another cryptic text message from Mary Jane, prompting the family to call her up. Mary Jane then told them that she was in jail. A few hours after, they called her up again and she told them the events that transpired before she was apprehended in Indonesia.
May 13 – Mary Jane’s family went to Tintin’s house in Talavera. Tintin told them to “keep silent, don’t tell anyone and don’t approach the media”. Tintin also allegedly told them that should they fail to keep quiet, Mary Jane and the rest of the family would be in grave danger because “she (Tintin) belongs to an international drug syndicate”. Tintin also allegedly told them that the syndicate would spend millions just to get Mary Jane out of jail.
August – Mary Jane’s family decided to go to Manila despite Tintin’s warning to ask for help from some media outfits. They also went to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to report Mary Jane’s case. They were met by case officer Patricia Mocom who promised to assist them and help Mary Jane.
Since then, the family religiously went back to the DFA Manila to request for updates on Mary Jane’s case. They also sought the help of their Mayor and Governor, as well as the National Bureau of Investigation, police and authorities in Cabanatuan City. They were told by the NBI that they could not file any complaints against Tintin due to lack of evidence.
At various times, members of the Veloso family have also approached the PDEA, the Office of the Vice President and Malacanang for help.
October 4 – Public Prosecutor Sri Anggraeni presented before the Sleman District Court the recommendation for life imprisonment as penalty for Mary Jane’s offense. Mary Jane was represented by court-appointed pro bono lawyer Edy Haryanto apparently recommended by the police themselves
October 11 – The District Court of Justice of Sleman in Yogjakarta sentenced Mary Jane with the death penalty.
October 22 – The Philippine Embassy in Jakarta reportedly filed an appeal with the Appeals Court of Yogjakarta.
October 25 – Mary Jane’s family received a call from her to wish her son a happy birthday. Since then, they had been able to communicate with Mary Jane regularly via phone. They told Mary Jane to write an affidavit, and send it to them via mail, detailing the events that led to her arrest to be used for the complaint they wanted to file at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) against Tintin.
October 27 – PH embassy recommended the hiring of a private lawyer for Mary Jane for the appeal stage, prompting the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) to authorize the disbursement of an initial USD$5,000 from the Legal Assistance Fund to hire the services of the Indonesian firm Rudyantho & Partners Law Office.
November – The family received post mail from Mary Jane containing photos but no affidavit. They called Mary Jane who was in turn surprised that her affidavit did not reach the family. She said that she would be sending them her affidavit again soon.
December – The family received another post mail from Mary Jane, again containing photos and a bandanna from a priest, but still no affidavit. They immediately reported this to Mary Jane who confirmed that she sent her affidavit along with the rest of the mail’s contents.
2011
The family reported the missing contents of Mary Jane’s mail to Joseph Ladip of PDEA.
February 10 – The Court of Appeals of Yogjakarta upheld Mary Jane’s death penalty sentence.
February 21 – Embassy-hired lawyer Rudyantho filed a Memorandum of Appeal to the Supreme Court of Indonesia on behalf of Mary Jane.
February 22 – The Philippine Embassy reportedly appealed the case to the Supreme Court in Jakarta.
May 31 – The Supreme Court upheld Mary Jane’s death penalty.
August 23 – Pres. Benigno Aquino III intervened a year after Veloso had already been sentenced to death, through a request for clemency with then-President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono who imposed a moratorium on executions during his term.
October 10 – Ambassador Maria Rosario Aguinaldo forwarded Pres. Aquino’s Letter of Clemency to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2012
October 11 – The Veloso family received a hysterical call from Mary Jane. She begged them to help her because her sentence had been upheld in all courts. She told them that she was to be executed in a week’s time.
On the same day, the family rushed to the DFA. They were able to talk to Patricia who told them that the news was false and that the DFA had not received any news or reports from Indonesia.
The family also went to PDEA for another attempt to file a case against Tintin. They were told that they could not file due to lack of evidence.
October 12 – The family called Mary Jane to tell her about what Patricia said. She tearfully asserted that what she told them was true and that it was already all over the news. They called Patricia but she again denied Mary Jane’s claims. A few minutes after, Patricia called them back and told them that the news was indeed true.
2013
April – Mary Jane called her parents and told them to apply for passports because her police friends, Puri and Bita, and her fellow inmates agreed to sponsor their visit to her in jail.
June 5 – Mary Jane’s parents and eldest son Mark Danielle left for Indonesia. They stayed there for almost a month and were able to visit Mary Jane daily during the duration of their stay.
June 29 – The family arrived back in Manila.
July – Mary Jane sent her sister Maritess her hand-written affidavit via courier (LBC).
2014
December 30 – Indonesian Pres. Joko Widodo issued Presidential Decision No. 31/G – 2014 rejecting the request for clemency on behalf of Mary Jane.
2015
January – The family received a call from Mary Jane. She told them to seek assistance from anyone willing to help because she was scheduled for execution soon. Maritess called the DFA and was informed that Patricia had been replaced by Violet Ancheta as case officer for Mary Jane’s case. Violet told them that the news was false.
January 19 – Atty. Rudyantho filed the (first) Application for Judicial Review of Mary Jane’s case at the District Court of Justice of Sleman, Yogjakarta.
January 28 – DFA Sec. Del Rosario handed a letter to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retnu L.P. Marsudi at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Retreat in Kota Kinabalu, requesting Indonesian authorities to give due course to the Application for Judicial Review of Mary Jane’s case.
February 2 – Migrante learned that a Filipina is set to face death row by firing squad in Indonesia. The name of the Filipina had not been released yet. Migrante immediately contacted its allied migrant organization in Indonesia, ATKI, to inquire and verify.
February 4 – Marsudi replied to Sec. Del Rosario ensuring that all available legal measures have been undertaken in accordance with Indonesian laws.
February 6 – Migrante got an email from its networks in Indonesia confirming that a certain “Mary Jane” is indeed on death row in Indonesia.
February 9 – Pres. Aquino reportedly appealed Mary Jane’s case to Pres. Widodo during the latter’s state visit to the Philippines.
February 14 – Migrante got Mary Jane’s full name from Indonesian contacts and started to locate the whereabouts of her family in the Philippines. It was around this time that it was relayed to Migrante that Mary Jane told her spiritual adviser, Father Kiser, that she preferred not to involve her family because she feared for their safety and to just wait for the decision of the first judicial review.
February 16 – DFA forwarded to the Indonesian Embassy in Manila a copy of Pres. Aquino’s letter to Pres. Widodo on the Petition for Judicial Review of Mary Jane’s case. DFA also forwarded said letter to the PH Embassy in Jakarta.
February 18 – Mary Jane’s parents, sister Maritess and her two sons were able to visit Mary Jane in Indonesia through the DFA. They were accompanied by Violet.
February 22 – The family returned to the Philippines. Before they returned, Chito Mendoza, attaché’ of the Philippine Embassy asked for Mary Jane’s hand-written affidavit from Maritess.
March 3 – The Sleman District Court held the first hearing where the defense informed the court of the reasons for the Application of Judicial Review relating to the lapses in the proceedings at the trial court in 2010: 1) the problem in translations, 2) the qualifications of the court-appointed translator, and 3) the language barrier.
March 4 – The lower court handed down its decision ordering the endorsement of the case filed to the Supreme Court in Jakarta to proceed with the Judicial Review. This initial stage of the Judicial Review was for the trial court to determine if there is merit for the review of the case by the Indonesian Supreme Court.
March 9 – OFW Joven Esteva was executed via beheading in Saudi Arabia. His family was surprised to belatedly learn about his execution in the news. In a statement, Migrante called on the DFA to divulge its plans for Mary Jane in light of Esteva’s execution. No statement was released by the DFA to acknowledge, confirm or deny Mary Jane’s predicament.
March 25 – The Indonesian Supreme Court rejected the Petition for Judicial Review.
March 30 – Migrante was finally able to locate the Veloso family in their home in Brgy. Caudillo, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines.
March 31 – PDEA submitted a report to the PH embassy based on Mary Jane’s testimony after its visit with her last March 29. The report was in English and needed to be translated officially to Bahasa.
March 31 – Migrante released an Appeal for Urgent Action to all its networks, allied organizations and member organizations worldwide. The Appeal circulated quickly and gathered overwhelming support.
April 1 – Migrante held a picket at the Indonesian embassy, and submitted an Open Letter to Indonesian Pres. Joko Widodo
April 6 – Nanay Celia, Tatay Cesar, Maritess and Mary Jane’s two children arrived in Manila. Migrante held a metro-wide candle-lighting in different communities.
April 7 – The Veloso family held a press conference in front of the DFA main office in Manila bewailing the government’s lack of action and transparency on Mary Jane’s case.
Migrante sought the help of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL). The Veloso family agreed to take on the NUPL’s pro bono services for Mary Jane’s case in a meeting held at the Migrante office with NUPL secretary-general Atty. Edre Olalia. It was at this time that the picture of Tintin was disclosed by the Veloso family. A written retainer agreement was executed to this effect.
April 8 – Nanay Celia, Tatay Cesar and the two kids went to the Indonesian embassy to submit their appeal letter to Widodo.
Migrante issued a press statement calling on PH authorities to arrest Tintin because it will be crucial to Mary Jane’s appeal. During all this time, Tintin was just sitting pretty in her house in Talavera.
The NUPL legal team was formed to serve as Mary Jane and the Veloso family’s Philippine private lawyers.
April 9 – Nanay Celia, Tatay Cesar and Maritess accomplished their affidavits for review and verification by the NUPL.
The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) wrote Pres. Widodo asking that Mary Jane’s conviction be overturned on procedural and substantive grounds
April 10 – Mary Jane’s supposed original schedule of execution. Migrante held a rally in Mendiola with the Veloso family. No word nor statement from the DFA or Pres. Aquino came out. On the same day, the Indonesian government released a statement to the media that no executions were to take place until after the conclusion of the Bandung Conference on April 24.
Nanay Celia and Tatay Cesar submitted a letter to the DFA informing it that they have engaged the pro bono services of NUPL as their Philippine private lawyers and requesting copies of all documents pertinent to Mary Jane’s case.
April 11 – Migrante and NUPL held a Skype meeting with ATKI and the International Migrants’ Alliance (IMA) and foreign lawyers who volunteered to help in Mary Jane’s case. By then, ATKI was already trying to get in touch with some lawyers from Rudyantho & Partners (R&P) and efforts to connect NUPL with them were underway. The trafficking angle for the filing of the second judicial review was discussed after fast and furious research done by the NUPL.
April 13 – The DFA replied to Nanay Celia and Tatay Cesar’s letter only to inform them that they still do not have custody of the documents they requested and that all documents are still in Bahasa.
Atty. Olalia solicited the institutional support of the IBP through its President Atty. Vicente Joyas who readily agreed in principle to support the NUPL in the case.
April 14 – NUPL submitted a formal letter to the DFA reiterating its representation of the Veloso family and to request pertinent legal documents on Mary Jane’s case as the Velosos’ private legal counsel. NUPL also asked DFA to connect them to the Indonesian lawyers R&P as the retained PH lawyers of Mary Jane and the Velosos. The DFA did not acknowledge or reply to this letter at all. (Another letter dated May 4 was sent by NUPL to DFA but the same remains unacknowledged and unanswered up to now.).
April 15 – Nanay Celia, Tatay Cesar and Maritess finalized their affidavits, signed, sworn and notarized by the NUPL.
Atty. Olalia held a Skype conference with an Indonesian allied lawyer and was briefed on the Indonesian legal and judicial system, the protocol for executions and the potential channels by which NUPL can be linked up with the embassy-retained Indonesian lawyers of Mary Jane.
April 16 – NUPL submitted a first batch of letter-complaints to the PDEA, NBI and Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking in Persons (IACAT)/Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting that “the appropriate steps and investigation be initiated and conducted on Maria Kristina P. Sergio @ Tintin, for violation of both local and international laws such as Republic Act 10022 or the Amended Migrant Workers Act and pertinent international laws against drug trafficking as well as for possible violations of the human trafficking laws, laws on illegal recruitment and for other related crimes”.
April 17 – NUPL submitted follow-up letters to PDEA, NBI and IACAT, attaching sworn affidavits of Nanay Celia, Tatay Cesar and Maritess. NUPL also asked IACAT/DOJ to “undertake the necessary and appropriate measures…to ensure the safety of (their) clients as well as other members of their immediate families who are vulnerable to reprisals from the malevolent malefactors responsible for putting Mary Jane in such horrible situation”.
Maritess and Connie Bragas-Regalado of Migrante flew to Indonesia to coordinate with ATKI and other networks in Jakarta for the campaign to save Mary Jane’s life. Purpose of their trip was to act as “advanced team” for the consequent trip to Indonesia of NUPL and other members of the Veloso family.
Atty. Olalia spoke to Atty. Theresa Dizon-De Vega, Chief Coordinator, Office of the DFA Secretary, regarding their letters to the DFA and OUMWA. Atty. Olalia asked her to connect him directly with OUMWA Usec. Yabes, the DFA officer on the case as well as a certain Roberto Manalo (who turns out to be the consul general in Jakarta) and to coordinate with NUPL as the Philippine private lawyers of the Velosos. She verbally said and later replied further in a text message that she has relayed Atty. Olalia’s messages and “concerns” to Usec. Yabes. Atty. De Vega has not communicated since with Atty. Olalia or NUPL. Usec. Yabes remains silent up to date.
Attys. Olalia and Minerva Lopez met with IBP President Joyas and IBP National Center for Legal Aid Director Atty. June Ambrosio to discuss the details and parameters of the NUPL-IBP cooperation in the case.
April 18 – 1:00 am, Maritess and Connie’s arrival in Jakarta. They had a brief orientation with ATKI and were able to set meeting schedules with Komnas Perempuan (the Indonesian commission against violence on women), church networks, Legal Aid Foundation and Migrant Care. They were also able to finally secure a meeting with Rudyantho & Partners, Mary Jane’s Indonesian lawyers.
10:00 am, Connie and Maritess, with the help of ATKI, had a meeting with Ambassador Maria Lumen Isleta. Also present in the meeting were Consul General Roberto Manalo and Consul Shirlene Mananquil. In the meeting, they clarified information based on the timeline given by the DFA upon the Veloso family’s request. They were able to confirm that ConGen Manalo had no idea if the Customs and Excise people at the Yogjakarta airport informed the PH Embassy of Mary Jane’s arrest, and what happened during the time of the arrest to the time the Supreme Court convicted her and sentenced her to death. He claimed that he was not yet with the PH Embassy when Mary Jane was arrested and that he “will check Mary Jane’s case profile”.
They were also able to confirm that Atty. Agus Salim is a partner at the Rudyantho & Partners law firm. They were also surprised to learn that all documents and court decisions on Mary Jane’s case were still in Bahasa and not in the custody of the PH Embassy. They inquired about Mary Jane’s handwritten account that was supposedly given by the family to ATN Officer Chito Mendoza. The embassy officials denied knowledge of such document and said that “it has to be checked”. They, however, acknowledged that they received a copy of the DFA timeline.
Connie and Maritess provided the embassy officials with copies of NUPL’s letters to the DOJ, PDEA and NBI and the engagement letter between the Veloso family and NUPL and clarified the role of the NUPL as the Veloso family’s retained Philippine lawyers.
Ambassador Isleta expressed openness to coordinate with anyone willing to help, including Migrante and NUPL, and arranged a meeting with R&P on Monday, April 20. She also committed to endorse a visit to Mary Jane to the prosecutor’s office through Mary Jane’s Indonesian lawyers.
3:00pm, Connie and Maritess met with Fr. Andang Binawan, SJ, Episcopal Vicar of the Archdiocese of Jakarta, Fr. Benny Juliawan, SJ, and Sr. Lia of the Religious of the Good Shepherd. They explained Mary Jane’s case to them. They arranged to visit local churches and promised to provide accommodations and other logistical support.
On the same day, they were also able to talk to Atty. Rudyantho over the phone and he said that he already knew about their visit. He said that a visit to Mary Jane in jail was possible provided that they be able to acquire authorization from the PH Embassy.
April 19 – Connie and Maritess visited local churches in Indonesia with the RGS sisters for the whole day. They were able to meet Fr. Harold Maurin Toledano, OAD, Order of Discalced Augustinians. They discussed about Mary Jane’s case. The priest led a prayer for Mary Jane in a mass attended by 300 people.
7:00 pm, they had a meeting with Yuri Asry, Task Force on Migration coordinator of Komnas Perempuan, to discuss Mary Jane’s case. She informed them that they had been visiting Mary Jane in prison for the past three years to conduct interviews in relation to lobby efforts with the office of Pres. Widodo. She said that they had already sent a letter of appeal to Pres. Widodo to grant Mary Jane a chance to prove that she is a victim of trafficking. She also gave them a copy of Mary Jane’s handwritten appeal to Pres. Widodo.
Yuri also told them about ConGen Manalo’s “bad-mouthing” of Migrante to Mary Jane. She said that the ConGen told Mary Jane that Migrante had allowed her kids to be exposed under the heat of the sun in rallies, particularly in the previous rallies at the Indonesian Embassy in Manila. She said that ConGen said that “rallies will affect her case” and dissuaded Mary Jane from allowing Migrante to visit her.
April 20 – In Manila, Migrante and supporters of the Save Mary Jane campaign held a picket at the Indonesian embassy in time for the opening of the Bandung Conference. In Jakarta, 9:00am, Connie and Maritess met with R&P lawyers Attys. Ismail Mohammad, Agus Salim and Siska Apriliani. They reiterated requests for court documents and a jail visit to Mary Jane. They were informed by the lawyers that all documents/court decisions were still in Bahasa. They also arranged for a meeting in Jakarta with NUPL lawyers the following day.
11:00 am, they had another meeting with Komnas Perempuan.
2:00 pm, NUPL held a press conference together with Atty. Ambrosio at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP). Atty. Ambrosio publicly reiterated the support and cooperation of the IBP in the case. NUPL raised the human trafficking-drug trafficking intersection as a legal approach. It also raised several questions indicating badges of negligence or missteps on the part of the Philippine government.
5:00 pm, a meeting with Communication of Churches in Indonesia. Present in the meeting were Dr. Alphinus Kambadji, chairperson; Rev. Krise Anki Gosal, Deputy Secretary-General; and four (4) others. They committed to write an appeal to Pres. Widodo, to offer prayers and provide logistical support for the Veloso family, Migrante and NUPL lawyers who were scheduled to arrive the next day.
7:00 pm, they discussed Mary Jane’s case in a mass meeting held by ATKI.
April 21 – Atty. Edre Olalia and Atty. Minnie Lopez of NUPL flew to Indonesia together with Tatay Cesar.
10:00 am, Connie and Maritess had meeting with the PH Embassy.
2:00 pm, they proceeded to a meeting with R&P.
4:00 pm, they met with Legal Aid Foundation.
5:00 pm, they met with Anis of Migrant Care and planned actions in the following days.
Migrante also issued an Open Letter to ASEAN Heads of State, distributed and signed by various ASEAN organizations during the ASEAN People’s Forum held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
April 22 – Nanay Celia led a picket rally in front of the DFA together with families of other OFWs on death row.
In Jakarta, Atty. Olalia spoke to Mary Jane over cellphone at great lengths. She agreed to validate the decision of her family to take NUPL as her Philippine private lawyers.
1:00 pm, Atty. Olalia, Atty. Lopez, Connie of Migrante, Tatay Cesar, Maritess and Iweng of ATKI met for two hours with Atty. Agus Salim and Atty. Ismail Muhammad of R&P. In the meeting they were able to confirm the following:
- That R&P was not able to receive any communications from the NUPL, directly or coursed through the DFA. It was only after Connie and Maritess talked to Yuni of Komnas Perempuan, an Indonesian women’s organization and network of ATKI, and through Yuni’s help that they were able to establish contact with the lawyers on April 20.
- That the PH embassy only availed of R&P’s services on the appeal stage. Prior and during the trial, a court-appointed lawyer, similar to PH’s Public Assistance Office (PAO), represented Mary Jane.
- That R&P had already requested the Aquino government to investigate Kristina “Tintin” Sergio, Mary Jane’s alleged recruiter and trafficker in 2011, even BEFORE the filing of the first petition for judicial review. This would have been instrumental for the appeal. They were, however, dismayed to learn that the PH government only attended to this AFTER the judicial review had been rejected by the Indonesian Supreme Court on March 25, 2015.
- That it was only last week that the PH Embassy gave R&P the official translations of the first (District Court) and second (Appelas Court) verdicts on Mary Jane’s case.
- That the PDEA report submitted to the embassy on March 31 was yet to be translated into Bahasa. R&P confirmed that the PH Embassy promised to give them the translated document the following day on April 23, almost a month after it was accomplished.
- That the PDEA was yet to coordinate with its Indonesian counterpart, the Basan Narkotika Basional (BNN), for the comparison of the results of their respective investigations. Both R&P and the PH legal team were yet to be provided with the reports.
- That the R&P and NUPL agreed to work hand-in-hand for the filing of the second judicial review on Mary Jane’s case pending all documents required from and provided by the PH government. The Indonesiand lawyers positively welcomed and were receptive to the human trafficking vis-a-vis drug trafficking angle and said they will add this approach as a supporting ground.
4:53 pm, immediately after meeting with R&P, Atty. Olalia sent a text message to DOJ Sec. Leila de Lima urgently asking, upon agreement with R&P, for a certification from the IACAT that a letter-complaint for human trafficking had been filed against Tintin and for its status, saying that they will attach the same to the 2nd application for judicial review originally scheduled to be filed on April 28 as they were still waiting for the needed documents from the PH embassy.
The Veloso family, NUPL and Migrante attended a meeting with all Komnas Perempuan commissioners, attended by Chairperson Yuniyanti Chuzaifah and discussed further the case and the human trafficking vis-a-vis drug trafficking angle.
Attys Olalia and Lopez, Coni and Maritess held their first presscon. (Daily multiple and frequent media live and taped interviews will be taken from Philippine, Indonesia and other foreign media outlets by them and other members of the Veloso family henceforth until they left Jakarta on April 30.)
April 23 – NUPL sent a follow through formal letter-request to the DOJ-IACAT asking for the certification on the complaint filed for human trafficking and other crimes against Tintin.
In Jakarta, the family, NUPL and Migrante met Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay upon his insistent request coursed posthaste through the PH embassy. He was on his way to attend the Bandung Conference. He informed them that he was able to talk to the Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs on Indonesia to discuss an appeal for clemency for Mary Jane. He said NUPL can take care of the legal approach and he will pursue the diplomatic approach. He also said that they learned that criminal complaints were already filed against Tintin on April 21. The whole PH embassy delegation headed by Ambassador Isleta and Consul General Manalo were present. Atty. Olalia approached them on their way out and expressed the willingness of NUPL as Philippine private lawyers of the Velosos to cooperate and collaborate in saving Mary Jane.
Maritess and Tatay Cesar went to the Philippine embassy to have their sworn statements of April 15, 2015 consularized by Consul Shirlene Mananquil.
At around 4:00 pm PH time, Nanay Celia and the two children flew to Indonesia with Pamela Pangilinan of Migrante. Atty. Judy Razon and Christine Panganiban, Foreign Service Officers of OUMWA-DFA travelled with them. Consul Shirlene Mananquil met them when they arrived.
NUPL, Maritess, Tatay Cesar, Migrante and ATKI met with the Filipino UP Alumni community who expressed support and solidarity.
April 24 – Mary Jane was transferred from her prison in Yogyakarta to Nusakumbangan Island at 1:25 am, Indonesia time.
The Veloso family, NUPL, Migrante, Indonesian lawyers and embassy and DFA officials took a flight to Yogyakarta. At the Yogyakatta airport, Atty. Olalia asked attaché Mr. Mendoza for the copy of Mary Jane’s handwritten account. He said that he gave it to Consul General Manalo.
Vice President Binay called Atty. Olalia and asked for an update and expressed regret he cannot join the trip to Yogyakarta.
On the way by land to Cilacap, the port city to Nusakambangan island, Atty. Olalia asked ConGen Manalo about the Mary Jane’s handwritten statement and replied “is that still needed?” Atty. Olalia said yes, especially for documentation purposes. ConGen Manalo even said that Mary Jane has a handwritten account she made in 2013.
The DFA in Manila held a press conference at around 10:00 in the morning saying that they have not yet received any reports that Mary Jane had been transferred to the island. They also announced that they had already filed a second judicial review to appeal Mary Jane’s case.
Atty. Olalia, however, confirmed that the second petition for judicial review had only been filed and received at exactly 3:50 pm, Indonesia time, at the District Court of Sleman, Yogjakarta, Indonesia. Atty. Olalia met Atty. Ismail Muhhammad of R&P lawyers on his way out of the court immediately after the filing.
At around 4:00pm PH time, Christopher, Mary Jane’s brother, and Michael, Mary Jane’s husband, flew to Indonesia.
April 25 – At past midnight upon arriving in Cilacap from a long land trip from Yogyakarta, the Velso family, NUPL and Migrante, together with the Indonesian lawyers and PH embassy and DFA officials, Puri, plus the Indonesian interpreter of the embassy and Fr. Kiser were summoned by the Indonesian prosecutors. At first, Attys. Olalia were not allowed to join the meeting but the prosecutors relented to allow only Atty. Olalia to sit in. He was asked for a written engagement as Philippine private lawyers which he produced and submitted, duly receipted by the prosecutor.
What they thought were mere discussions for a visit to the prison island turned out to be a service of the Order of Execution. The prosecutors initially said that there was already a “fixed date” but after further verification admitted that there was none yet. They also explained why Mary Jane had to be transferred posthaste from her Yogyakarta prison. After much discussion on details of the visit and the prospective execution itself, arrangements were made for a visit that same day. But despite fierce negotiations, Migrante representatives were not allowed to join.
First visit of the Veloso family to Mary Jane at Nusakambangan. They were accompanied by Atty. Olalia and Atty. Lopez. She gave four handwritten letters which she wrote in January which the DFA officials decided to keep and take care of.
Nanay Celia, Maritess and Atty. Olalia confirmed that Mary Jane was given the 72-hour notice of execution at around 5:00 pm Philippine time when Mary Jane herself frantically called Maritess.
7:00 pm PH time, Migrante held a press conference at their office to announce the 72-hour notice and to call on the public to support the vigil at the Indonesian embassy to Save Mary Jane.
Mary Jane’s brother Christopher and ex-husband Michael Candelaria arrived in Cilacap.
April 26 – Darling, Mary Jane’s sister, arrived in Manila, along with two additional witnesses who gave testimonies to NUPL against Tintin.
Migrante started a 72-hour vigil at the Indonesian embassy. PH police troops attempted to disperse the vigil.
The whole Veloso family, Atty. Olalia, Indonesian lawyers, Indonesian prosecutor, Puri, PH embassy and DFA officials, Fr. Kiser and the PH embassy interpreter again visited Mary Jane and spent practically the whole day there in a very relaxed and cordial atmosphere.
Atty. Olalia and the Indonesian lawyers wanted to have a confidential lawyer-client consultation with Mary Jane on the possible legal scenarios but the Consul General invited himself in.
Actress Monique Wilson of Gabriela, who happened to be in Bali at that time, decided to join Migrante, NUPL and the Velosos in Cilacap.
Atty. Lopez left for Jakarta en route to Manila.
April 27 – Darling left for Indonesia. Day 2 of vigil ongoing.
Veloso family stepped out of the embassy-hired van and insisted on speaking before the international media people at the Cilacap port before taking the boat ride to make a last-ditch appeal to Pres. Widodo to spare Mary Jane. They were told off by Judith Razon of DFA. Ambassador Isleta was also present. She also reprimanded the family and told them that they blew off their chance to visit Mary Jane because they are more interested in talking to the media.
Meanwhile, Atty. Olalia stayed in the van together with Mary Jane’s two sons and her father. He was surprised to have been informed that he will not be allowed to visit this time around. When he asked the Indonesian lawyer Ismail Muhammad, the latter said that security was being tightened because there was apparently a security breach by other visitors of the other prison inmates on death row. When Atty.Olalia asked the Consul General why he was being singled out, the latter said he does not know. When Atty. Olalia conceded not to protest and decided to waive his right to see and confer with his client, he left some words of advice to Tatay Cesar who was being bodily prevented by Ambassador Isleta to come near Atty. Olalia.
As of 12:14 pm, PH time, Migrante got word that Atty. Olalia was excluded by embassy officials from accompanying his clients to their third visit to Mary Jane in the island.
As of 1:04 pm, PH time, NUPL confirmed that they just got hold of the received copy of the application for second judicial review. Sleman Court said that they would release official decision by evening.
As of 8:00 pm, PH time, Atty. Lopez, straight from the airport, led the press conference held at the vigil site at the Indonesian embassy confirming that the second judicial review had been rejected by the Sleman Court.
As of around 2:00 am PH time, PH police again tried to disperse the vigil at the Indonesian embassy.
By this time, the Facebook Page, www.facebook.com/SaveMJVeloso, had already peaked at 16,000 likes in just a matter of hours. The change.org petition launched by the Promotion for Church People’s Response (PCPR) was already the fastest-growing petition, gathering at least 200,000 signatures worldwide.
April 28 – Pres. Aquino reportedly had a 5-minute side meeting with Pres. Widodo at the ASEAN conference in Malaysia.
As of 8:14 am, PH time, Migrante confirmed that Pres. Aquino’s appeal for clemency had been denied by Pres. Widodo, and called out for public support for the vigil at the Indonesian embassy.
At around 10:10 am, Jakarta time, Justice Secretary de Lima called Atty.Olalia and discussed the remaining legal options, including the possibility of a reprieve.
At around 10:30 am, Tintin had reportedly surrendered to the Philippine police.
At around the same time, the DFA had released a statement saying that they have done everything they possibly could for Mary Jane.
As of 5:20pm, PH time, Migrante got news from ATKI that Widodo was in a meeting with Migrant Care, to talk about Mary Jane’s case. Migrant Care told Widodo that Tintin had surrendered to PH authorities. Widodo told them that Indonesian government would verify the implications of the surrender to Mary Jane’s case.
As of 6:45 pm, PH time, according to Andi Widjajanto, cabinet secretary, change of decision about Mary Jane could happen but it depended upon confirmation of the facts and the possible implications on existing laws. But it was still not clear how this could affect the schedule of the execution.
As of 7:10pm, PH time, Indonesian chief prosecutor announced that still nine convicts will face the firing squad. Indonesian Attorney General said that they do not want to set a precedent. He said that the decision is final and that they would go ahead with the Execution.
An interview of Foreign Affairs Minister Marsudi on the appeal of President BS Aquino quted the former as saying. “why only now? First reason was interpreter, and now she was a victim.” Indonesian authorities say the last-minute appeal was just “an alibi.” President BSA publicly justified this by saying that Mary Jane was supposedly “uncooperative at first” and that it was only now that the case became clear to them.
As of 7:50 pm, PH time, Atty. Olalia, in a text message, told supporters to “intensify further and make stronger and broader calls to pressure/appeal/implore Widodo to still reconsider up to the last moment”.
Indonesian migrant and church workers had also released to the international public the Attorney General’s mobile number, calling on supporters to barrage him with text messages pleading for Mary Jane’s life.
At around 8:00 pm, Jakarta time, Mary Jane’s sisters Maritess and Darling were then summoned to go to Nusakambangan, a clear and categorical sign that the execution would proceed. Atty. Olalia then texted Manila and said that there is already a shift in the preparations, that he apologetically “could not bring home alive” the mother of the two kids but he hoped that he was wrong anyway.
By 9:00 pm, PH time, Maritess and Darling had already been transported to the island. The rest of the family accompanied by Coni of Migrante and PDFA officials decided to go back to Jakarta with heavy hearts. Atty. Olalia and Pam of Migrante, together with ATKI and Komnas Perempuan and Monique Wilson decided to stay behind in Cilacap and wait.
As of 11:02pm, PH time, Atty. Olalia et al. confirmed that the Indonesian government had announced that execution would take place at 2:00 am Indonesia time (3:00 am PH time).
April 29 –
At around 1130 pm, ATKI was receiving unconfirmed reports from confidential sources through texts that “there was some development.” Atty. Olalia advised ATKI to check, double check, verify and validate the veracity of the report. Then later unconfirmed information started coming in that only eight persons were executed and that Mary Jane was purportedly saved at the last minute. And finally, there was advise that it ws already in the news. ATKI, Pam and Atty. Olalia, together with Komnas Perembuan checked the Indonesian TV news at around 12:40 am (1:40 am PH time)and saw the incredible news that Mary Jane was indeed spared.
At 1:47 am, Ph time, Atty. Olalia called Migrante to give the good news that execution had been suspended until all proceedings in the Philippines are finished.
Vigil-goers and supporters from the Indonesian embassy proceeded to hold a “celebratory” rally in Mendiola.
April 30 – Atty. Olalia provided ConGen Manalo with NUPL’s written retainers as Mary Jane Veloso’s and her family’s Philippine private lawyers which he duly receipted.
The Veloso family were able to visit and talk to Mary Jane at length back in Yogjakarta prison before they left for Manila. Her Indonesian and Philippine lawyers as well as Migrante and Filipino religious saw her from a distance and later hugged her silently.
ConGen Manalo told Mary Jane during this conversation with her family that Pres. Widodo will purportedly push with the execution if the family will not stop criticising President Aquino. He spoke in Bahasa. But Mary Jane translated it for the family. Manalo did everything humanly possible to stop Mary Jane from writing confirming that she wants NUPL to be her Philippine private lawyer. She was eventually able to give a handwritten legal engagement in Filipino and Bahasa.
May 1 – The Veloso family, Migrante and NUPL arrived in Manila and held a press conference at the Migrante office by lunch time. ###
