Emotions run high at vigil on the eve of Mary Jane’s execution

About 70 Filipino-Americans and concerned community members gathered in front of the Indonesian Consulate in Midtown Manhattan on April 27 as part of international actions to save the life of domestic worker Mary Jane Veloso, who is awaiting execution by firing squad in Indonesia the following day.

“The death penalty is a violent and inhumane punishment that has no place in today’s criminal justice system,” stated Kalaya’an Mendoza of Amnesty International. “I urge the Indonesian authorities to stand for human rights and stop the execution of Mary Jane Veloso.”

The activists expressed strong criticism against Philippine President Benigno Aquino III’s whom they accuse of “neglect and failure” to investigate Mary Jane’s claim that she was trafficked and duped into carrying drugs by an international drug syndicate. She was convicted of drug charges and sentenced to death in an Indonesian court in 2010.

“Mary Jane’s life is a tragedy, a tragedy born from poverty, from corruption, from joblessness, from forced migration, and from government neglect,” said Bernadette Ellorin, chairperson of BAYAN USA. “It is the Aquino government that turned its back on Mary Jane years ago. Despite his last-minute token appeal to the Indonesian government, Aquino’s actions are five years too late. Aquino’s lack of concern and timely action for Mary Jane Veloso will be at the cost of her life.”

“About 6000 Filipinos leave the Philippines every day to seek work abroad through the Philippine government’s Labor Export Policy, the majority of those who work abroad are women,” said Jennine Ventura of Gabriela New York. “They work abroad in pursuit of a decent livelihood since life in the Philippines is getting harder under Aquino. Yet more migrant women workers face discrimination, abuse, and–in the cases of Flor Contemplacion and Mary Jane Veloso–death.”

Organizers and supporters vowed to continue with actions this week, whether or not the execution moves forward, beginning with a vigil in Union Square at 6 p.m. on April 28. They wrapped up the vigil by calling for Aquino’s resignation or, “should he refuse to step down, ouster.”