The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) has joined calls for clemency for migrant worker Mary Jane Veloso, describing it as a “fitting Christmas gift to a bagong bayani.”
“Clemency for Mary Jane Veloso is a fitting Christmas gift to a bagong bayani,” said Mario Andon, spokesperson for PM’s Panay chapter.
Veloso, recently released by the Indonesian government after lengthy negotiations, was detained at the Women’s Correctional Facility upon her return to the Philippines. She had previously been convicted and sentenced to death in Indonesia, a penalty later spared through international campaigns.
“And aside from Mary Jane, we also ask that elderly and sickly political detainees be granted clemency on humanitarian grounds,” Andon said. “They all deserve to spend the holiday season with their families in their homes.”
PM has actively supported campaigns for Veloso’s freedom and continues to advocate for the release of political detainees in the country.
“Mary Jane is a symbol of the hardships endured by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs),” Andon added. “If we truly believe that migrant workers are bagong bayani, then we should extend every assistance to OFWs facing difficulties. Heroes do not have to be dead to be honored.”
