Filipina on death row in Indonesia

A Filipina on death row in Indonesia was visited by family for a late birthday celebration, as her supporters maintained the single mother would be proclaimed innocent and escape the firing squad.

Mary Jane Veloso was reunited with her parents and two children at a prison in Yogyakarta two days after her birthday, where they presented her with gifts and letters from her supporters in the Philippines.

The 31-year-old was granted a temporary reprieve in April just moments before she was due to be executed alongside eight other convicted drug traffickers, including seven foreigners.

The Indonesian government, which has some of the world’s toughest anti-narcotics laws, maintains her death sentence for drugs trafficking still stands.

But her supporters insist Veloso is innocent and was duped into carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin.

“We are very hopeful. We believe we can set her free, as it’s very clear that she is innocent,” Laorence Castillo, an activist from Filipino migrant workers organisation Migrante International told AFP.

Veloso was sentenced to death after her arrest in 2009, but was granted a temporary reprieve after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested in the Philippines.

Castillo said legal proceedings against Veloso’s alleged recruiter were ongoing in the Philippines, and the matter would return to court again in February.

A spokesman for the Indonesian attorney general’s office told AFP that Veloso’s position remained unchanged, despite the ongoing trial in the Philippines.

“In Indonesia, her status is still as a death row convict. There has been no new updates, the situation is still the same,” spokesman Amir Yanto said.

Yanto said while there was a possibility executions would resume in 2016, none had been scheduled yet because the government was focused on Indonesia’s economy.

Indonesia invoked the ire of several countries last year when it executed 14 death row inmates, including 12 foreigners, for drugs offenses.

Mary Jane Veloso’s family visited her in Indonesia for her birthday.

 

Mary Jane Veloso with other visitors in jail.

 

Peninsula Manila General Manager Sonja Vodusek says “Hope for the Philippines” The Peninsula – Gawad Kalinga (GK) Village will accept their first 50 residents this Christmastime with the rest moving into their new homes in the New Year

The Peninsula Manila General Manager Sonja Vodusek recently announced that the “Hope for the Philippines” The Peninsula – Gawad Kalinga (GK) Village in Maribi, Tanauan, Leyte, Philippines will welcome its first 50 residents just before Christmastime on December 8, 2015, with the last 25 houses scheduled for completion by the New Year on January 27, 2016.

The village will house 75 families from the coastal town of San Roque who were displaced when Super Typhoon Haiyan, named “Yolanda” by Filipino authorities—one of the most powerful storms on record to make landfall— barreled into the coastal provinces of Leyte and Samar in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines on November 8, 2013. The construction of the village is being funded using the US$ 900,000 raised by The Peninsula Hotels’ “Hope for the Philippines” campaign.

“Hope for the Philippines” was a shared, four-pronged initiative in Peninsula hotels across Asia and the United States that ran from November 22, 2013 to January 31, 2014 and was designed to assist the victims left homeless by the typhoon. Consisting of US$ 5 for each night’s stay per guest donated by each hotel, as well as proceeds from the sales of a special Philippine-themed “Tea of Hope”, the classic Filipino iced dessert “Halo Halo of Hope” and “Trees of Hope” Christmas ornaments, 100% of the money raised was donated to the “Hope for the Philippines” fund.

The “Trees of Hope” campaign is an annual Peninsula Hotels tradition, where Christmas trees are prominently displayed in each hotel’s lobby. Guests are encouraged to purchase an ornament to hang on the trees; the proceeds of which benefit various charity organizations around the globe. In 2013, the “Trees of Hope” campaign saw The Peninsula Hotels joining hands and going the extra mile to help those affected by Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan in the Philippines—proceeds raised were donated to the “Hope for the PHILIPPINES” project.

With The Peninsula Hotels celebrating its 40th year in the Philippines in 2016, the group is more than willing to give back to the country that has welcomed it with open arms. The Peninsula Manila has become an integral part of the Philippine community, and it will continue to do its part to help build a better nation.

Plans to build homes in the Eastern Visayas region were announced in November 2013 by Ms. Vodusek on behalf of The Peninsula Hotels. After several sites were considered, the decision was made to build the “Hope for the Philippines” The Peninsula – GK Village in the municipality of Tanauan, Leyte province, one of the areas most severely affected by the typhoon. The provincial capital of Tacloban and the nearby municipality of Tanauan were largely flattened by a massive storm surge, leaving people struggling to survive without food, shelter or clean drinking water. Official reports estimated that nearly 7,000 people had died and hundreds of thousands more had been displaced and left homeless.

The “Hope for the Philippines” The Peninsula – GK Village sits on nearly 10,000 sq m of land and will consist of 75 housing units, a playground and multipurpose hall.##

 

Secretary Albert del Rosario and US Secretary of State John Kerry held a follow-up meeting on 13 January 2016 to discuss several points raised during the 2nd Two-Plus-Two Ministerial Dialogue held 12 January 2016. Also in the photo is Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose L. Cuisia, Jr..

 

 

 

 

 

Illinois Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger met with her Asian American Advisory Board at the Albany Park Community Center on Wednesday and highlighted the importance of open communication between government and community leaders in these tough economic times.

In a successful second meeting, the Board got right to business discussing the state’s financial situation and strategies for tackling the challenges ahead. The group spoke about the effects of state payment delays and shared details for minimizing financial hardships for nonprofits. Meetings will continue to be held to keep an ongoing dialogue.

Back Row: Deputy Director of Public Affairs Cristina Madridejos Mancini, Vietnamese Association of Illinois CEO Paul Luu, Japanese American Service Committee CEO Michael Takada, Ambit Energy Senior Consultant Sadruddin Noorani, Illinois State Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger, Albany Park Community Center Director of Government Relations and Business Planning & Development Jin Lee, Office of United States Senator Mark Kirk Outreach Coordinator Mark Dietzen, Asian American Law Enforcement Association President Ron Bongat, Public Affairs Manager Thomas Choi. Front Row: Xilin Association Executive Director Linda Yang, MBDA Business Center – Chicago Business Consultant Megan Nakano, Chinese American Service League President Bernie Wong, Chinese Mutual Aid Association Manager of Strategic Initiatives Tuyet Ngo, Filipino American Network President Edgar Jimenez. Photo by: Teresa Potasiak