In what many will say equals a minor miracle, the life of Mary Jane Veloso was spared tonight as eight other convicts faced the firing squad in Indonesia. The news led to celebrations outside the Indonesian embassy in Makati, where activists had been holding a vigil all day.
Social media also quickly lit up with the newly created hashtag #MaryJaneLives.
Crowds celebrate outside the Indonesian embassy in Makati
The Philippines department of foreign affairs has confirmed to reporters that Mary Jane Veloso was not executed along with the other eight prisoners tonight after she received a temporary reprieve.
Earlier today, the Philippines government sent an “extremely urgent” letter to the Indonesian attorney-general asking for a “suspension of the execution of the death sentence”.
This followed news that Maria Kristina Sergio, the woman who allegedly recruited Veloso as a (she says unwitting) drugs courier, had surrendered herself to authorities in Nueva Ecjia.
Reports tonight say Veloso’s death sentence has been postponed so that she can act as a witness in any upcoming trial of Sergio.
The Indonesian government did go through with the execution of eight people for drug offences, however, including two Australians, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumuran, who were the subject of a years-long campaign for clemency.
