By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Freedom is only the beginning for Mary Jane Veloso.
Barely hours after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. granted her an absolute pardon, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) moved to put a comprehensive reintegration program in place, sending a team to Nueva Ecija to help Veloso and her family rebuild their lives after years of imprisonment and uncertainty.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac ordered the immediate deployment, directing DMW officials to work directly with Veloso’s family and local stakeholders to determine the assistance she needs as she starts life beyond prison.
The DMW, together with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), will provide psychosocial counseling, livelihood starter kits, enterprise capital and skills training.
Her planned business ventures will also be connected with local cooperatives and municipal economic programs in Nueva Ecija, giving the former overseas Filipino worker access to livelihood opportunities as she works toward financial independence.
“Our instructions are clear: the DMW must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Mary Jane, her children, and her parents as they rebuild their lives,” Cacdac said.
The agency stressed that Veloso’s return should not end with simply walking out of prison.
Cacdac said reintegration means restoring her dignity, establishing financial self-sufficiency and giving her the opportunity to contribute to her community and the local economy.
“Reintegration is not merely about coming home—it is about restoring dignity, ensuring financial self-sufficiency, and enabling Mary Jane to contribute to her local community and economy,” he said.
The DMW described the presidential clemency as a “definitive, triumphant end” to Veloso’s decades-long ordeal to reclaim her liberty.
Veloso was reunited with her family early Saturday after walking free from the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City shortly after midnight.
Her release closes a chapter that began with her arrest in Indonesia in 2010 after she was deceived into carrying a suitcase containing 2.6 kilograms of heroin.
She spent nearly 15 years on death row before her execution was stayed in 2015 after Philippine authorities recognized her as a victim of human trafficking.
Veloso was later repatriated to the Philippines to serve the remainder of her sentence before receiving the presidential pardon.
The DMW said her case also underscores the non-punishment principle for trafficking victims, which recognizes that individuals exploited by human traffickers should not face punitive legal consequences for acts committed as a result of their trafficking.
After years defined by imprisonment, uncertainty and separation from her family, Veloso now faces a different challenge: turning freedom into a stable life. The DMW says it is moving to make sure she does not have to do that alone.
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