Indonesia Respects Philippines’ Decision to Grant Mary Jane Absolute Pardon

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta — Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the Indonesian government respects the decision by the Philippine President to grant an absolute pardon to Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso. She had previously been sentenced to death in Indonesia.

Yusril said the Indonesian government was aware of the pardon granted by Filipino President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on September 25, 2026. He said the development had also been widely reported by Indonesian media and had drawn the attention of the government.

"The Indonesian government is already aware of this, and it has also been widely reported by the mass media. In accordance with the agreement with the Philippine government, responsibility for Mary Jane’s rehabilitation and supervision was fully transferred to President Marcos," Yusril Ihza Mahendra said in a written press statement on Sunday, September 27, 2026.

Yusril stressed that responsibility for Mary Jane’s rehabilitation and supervision had come under the Philippine government following her transfer on December 18, 2024. He said decisions concerning Mary Jane’s legal status would subsequently fall under the authority of the Philippine government in accordance with the agreement between the two countries.

"The Indonesian government respects whatever decision is taken by the Philippine government regarding Mary Jane Veloso’s legal status. Such decisions fall under the authority of the Philippine government after responsibility for Mary Jane’s rehabilitation and supervision was transferred," Yusril said.

Yusril said the transfer of responsibility for Mary Jane was a consequence of the agreement between Indonesia and the Philippines on the transfer of prisoners. The agreement stipulates that responsibility for a prisoner’s rehabilitation and supervision is transferred once the prisoner has been moved to their respective home country.

He explained that the agreement is reciprocal. Therefore, if an Indonesian citizen serving a sentence in the Philippines is transferred to Indonesia, responsibility for the prisoner’s rehabilitation and supervision would likewise be transferred to the Indonesian government.

"Because the agreement is reciprocal, if at some point an Indonesian citizen serving a sentence in the Philippines is repatriated to Indonesia, responsibility for the prisoner’s rehabilitation and supervision would also be transferred to the Indonesian government," the minister said.

According to Yusril such authority includes the possibility of granting a pardon or releasing an Indonesian citizen transferred to Indonesia. This would apply to Indonesian citizens who had previously been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Philippine court.

"If the Indonesian citizen serving a sentence in the Philippines were sentenced to life imprisonment, the Indonesian president would also have the authority, for example, to grant a pardon or release the prisoner,” Yusril explained.

Mary Jane Veloso was arrested at Adisutjipto Airport in Sleman Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta in April 2010 after authorities found approximately 2.6 kilograms of heroin. An Indonesian court subsequently sentenced her to death, but her execution was postponed in 2015 after the Philippine government requested that she be allowed to serve as a witness.

Indonesia and the Philippines agreed to transfer Mary Jane through a diplomatic process signed on December 6, 2024. Mary Jane was repatriated to the Philippines on December 18, 2024, and subsequently received an absolute pardon from President Marcos in September 2026. (Original article by Aditya Prabowo on Indonesia's version of RRI.co.id)