Mary Jane prays for alleged recruiter

MANILA, Philippines – Despite the bad predicament they inflicted on her, Mary Jane Veloso continued to pray for those responsible for her looming execution.

Mary Jane Veloso is one of the 8 foreigners – and the lone Filipino– set to be executed in Indonesia.

She was meted the death penalty in 2010 for illegally smuggling drugs into Indonesia. She claims she is innocent. (FAST FACTS: The case of Mary Jane Veloso)

In a letter she handed to a representative of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs on Saturday, April 25, Mary Jane pleaded to those responsible for what happened to her to stop their illegal work so no other innocent people would have to experience her fate. 

During her family’s visit in the Nusa Kambangan execution island, Mary Jane handed over 4 handwritten letters – one for Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and Vice President Jejomar Binay, and one for each of the following: Filipino women, Filipino youth, and one for those responsible for her fate.

“Sana lumiwanag ang inyong isipan at makonsensiya kayo. Sana sa lalong madaling panahon, mahuli ang nagpahamak sa buhay ko at para wala nang maging biktima katulad ko,” Mary Jane said in her fourth letter. 

(Let your conscience be your guide. I hope authorities catch those who are responsible for what happened to me so no other victim can fall prey to their illegal work.)

Based on Veloso’s narrative, Kristine Sergio, her godsister, offered her a job in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2010. Given her strong desire to send her sons to good schools, Veloso readily accepted the offer. When she arrived in Kuala Lumpur, however, the job was no longer available.

Sergio then advised Veloso not to worry. There was another job waiting for her in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Sergio assured her. 

Sergio then made Veloso carry luggage which turned out to have 2.6 kilograms of heroin packed beneath its linings. Veloso said she did not know anything about the illegal drugs until authorities arrested her for drug smuggling in Indonesia. 

Few months after her arrest, judges handed down the death penalty.

“Para sa akin, napakasakit at napakahirap tanggapin na kailangan kong pagdanasan ang lahat ng ito dahil sa mga taong katulad ninyo na gumagawa ng masama,” Mary Jane said in the letter.

(To me, it is so painful and difficult to accept that I need to go through all of these because of people like you who do wrong.) 

Despite these, she said she never stopped asking God to absolve them of their sins. 

“Hindi pa huli ang lahat para sa pagbabago. Huwag kayong magpakasama nang lubos. Meron pang naghihintay na kinabukasan sa inyo kung lalapit at hihingi ng tawad sa lahat ng nagawa niyong kasalanan,” she added.

(It’s not yet too late to change. There is a bright future ahead of you if you just confess to every illegal crime you have committed.)

Below is Mary Jane Veloso’s full letter to those responsible for her imprisonment and looming execution:

Below is Mary Jane’s letter translated into English: 

To those responsible for my imprisonment and looming execution:

I hope their conscience never finds rest for the wrongdoing they have done. I hope they stop their illegal work so no other innocent individual would fall prey to the same fate I had. 

You know that I am innocent and that I will be paying for crimes that I didn’t commit. Whether the execution pushes through or not, I am confident that God doesn’t sleep and that he will make sure justice will prevail. 

Let your conscience be your guide. I hope authorities catch those who are responsible for what happened to me so no other victim will experience what she has been through. 

To me, it is so painful and difficult to accept that I need to go through all of these because of people like you who do wrong.

But even though what you did against me is unforgivable, I continued to ask God that He absolves you of your sins.

It’s not yet too late to change. There is a bright future ahead of you if you just confess to every illegal crime you have committed.

Trust in God. 

Mary Jane Veloso

– With a report from Raisa Serafica/Rappler.com