Freedom of Mary Jane Veloso: A Moment to Integrate Protection for Human Trafficking Victims in Drug Cases

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) believes that the release of Mary Jane Veloso (MJV) should serve as a momentum to integrate the perspective of protecting victims of human trafficking into every handling of narcotics cases involving women, as well as to strengthen the protection of female migrant workers.

“Komnas Perempuan congratulates Mary Jane Veloso and her family and joyfully welcomes the granting of an absolute pardon by the President of the Republic of the Philippines, Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., for MJV,” said Komnas Perempuan member Yuni Asriyanti when confirmed in Jakarta on Friday.

“This is the fruit of long-term transnational human rights advocacy,” said Yuni Asriyanti.

She stated that since 2015, Komnas Perempuan has maintained that MJV is a victim of human trafficking (TPPO) whose vulnerability was exploited to serve as a courier for narcotics smuggling purposes.

The findings of Komnas Perempuan’s fact-finding mission in 2015 became one of the foundations used by many parties to re-examine and understand the MJV case more comprehensively.

Following the stay of MJV’s death execution which was granted at the last minute on 29 April 2015, Komnas Perempuan consistently continued advocacy to various parties for MJV’s release from the death penalty.

“Continued monitoring of legal efforts and the rehabilitation process in prison, up to the transfer of prisoner decision on 18 December 2024, became the gateway to MJV’s freedom,” she said.

Yuni Asriyanti stated that the MJV case reflects the multi-layered vulnerabilities faced by women and is not an isolated incident.

Human trafficking and the illicit drug trade, as recorded by Komnas Perempuan as of 2023, noted that there are 15 women with death penalty status, the majority of whom are entangled in narcotics cases involving patterns of gender-based vulnerability exploitation.