Jakarta – A Filipina who is among nine drug-trafficking convicts on death row in Indonesia will still face execution, the country’s attorney-general told Reuters on Monday after President Aquino’s last-ditch appeal for clemency to his Indonesian counterpart, President Joko Widodo.
The attorney-general gave no further details but Widodo, who commiserated on the plight of Veloso, had earlier promised to look into legal issues of her case after Aquino made a last-minute appeal to spare her life on humanitarian grounds.
The two leaders held a brief meeting at around 10 a.m. yesterday on the sidelines of the 26th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plenary summit in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting lasted for five minutes.
“President Aquino talked with President Widodo earlier this morning and appealed for humanitarian consideration for Mary Jane Veloso who was apparently duped into being an unwitting carrier of illegal drugs,” Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said.
“He said President Widodo was sympathetic and was consulting with the Indonesian attorney-general on the legal issues. President Widodo promised to resume the conversation with President Aquino later today,” Coloma added.
When en route to Langkawi later in the day, the President was still waiting for the word from Widodo about the case of Veloso. Aquino declined an interview with Manila-based reporters about his meeting with Widodo so as not to preempt any decision from the Indonesian leader.
But Widodo was not expected to join the other Southeast Asian leaders in the ASEAN retreat session and closing ceremony in Langkawi.
Manila Bulletin
