INDONESIA
\nA Philippine woman sentenced to death in Indonesia on drug charges said Thursday that she was \u201celated\u201d to be returning home, after a deal brokered between the two nations.
\nMary Jane Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms of heroin and later sentenced to death by firing squad.
\nThe mother-of-two\u2019s case sparked an uproar in the Philippines, with her family and supporters saying she was innocent and had been set up by an international drug syndicate.
\nOn Wednesday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said she would be handed over to Manila following years of \u201clong and difficult\u201d negotiations.
\n\u201cI am very elated to hear there is an opening chance for my hope to return home and be with my family,\u201d Veloso said in a written statement read by the prison warden Evi Loliancy on Thursday.
\n\u201cI\u2019m grateful and would like to thank everybody who keeps making efforts so I can return to my country,\u201d she said.
\nThe 39-year-old said she would utilize skills she has learned in prison, including local cloth-dying techniques, to earn money for herself and her family.
\nVeloso\u2019s family maintained that she was duped into signing up for a non-existent job abroad as a domestic worker and was not aware the suitcase given to her by the recruiter contained hidden drugs.
\nThe Philippine government won a last-minute reprieve for Veloso in 2015 after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested and put on trial for human trafficking in a case in which Veloso was named as a prosecution witness.
\nIndonesia\u2019s law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said President Prabowo Subianto had \u201capproved the transfer,\u201d which is expected to happen next month.
\nPhilippine leader Marcos on Wednesday posted a message thanking his Indonesian counterpart.
\nHe said Veloso\u2019s \u201cstory resonates with many: a mother trapped by the grip of poverty, who made one desperate choice that altered the course of her life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
INDONESIA A Philippine woman sentenced to death in Indonesia on drug charges said Thursday that she was \u201celated\u201d to be returning home, after a deal brokered between the two nations. Mary Jane Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms of heroin and later sentenced to death by firing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445006,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-444991","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n