The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has provided financial assistance to Mary Jane Veloso and her family following the grant of an absolute pardon by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac personally visited Veloso and her family at their home in General Natividad, Nueva Ecija, on Tuesday, September 29, to check on their welfare and deliver assistance from the government.
According to the DMW, the financial assistance given to Veloso and her family may be used as starting capital for a business and for repairs to their home.
Financial assistance was also provided to Veloso’s parents, Celia and Cesar, as well as to her sister Marites, who is also a former overseas Filipino worker (OFW).
“Masaya kami na makita kayong masaya bilang pamilya. Nanay Celia, Tatay Cesar, ito na po ang sagot sa inyong panalangin,” Cacdac told the family.
Veloso expressed gratitude to the government for continuing to assist her and her family.
“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa gobyerno na siya din pong tumulong sa akin at sa aking pamilya. Nawa’y pagpalain po kayong lahat ng Poong Maykapal,” Veloso said.
The DMW said it had previously extended assistance to the Veloso family, including financial support for their home and medical and eye checkups for Celia and Cesar at the OFW Hospital.
The agency also helped another sibling of Veloso, a distressed OFW who had been working in Saudi Arabia, return to the Philippines.
Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 after authorities found 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her luggage and was sentenced to death for drug trafficking. She maintained that she was unaware of the drugs and had been deceived by alleged recruiters.
In April 2015, Indonesia granted her an indefinite reprieve just hours before her scheduled execution after the Philippine government sought to have her testify in cases against her alleged recruiters.
In November 2024, Indonesia reduced her sentence from death to life imprisonment as part of an agreement allowing her to serve her sentence in the Philippines. She was formally transferred to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections on December 18, 2024.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Veloso's absolute pardon on September 24, 2026, and publicly confirmed the grant the following day.
