Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said the government’s recommendation to grant executive clemency to Mary Jane Veloso was based in part on the “non-punishment principle” under the country’s anti-trafficking law.
Ty said Section 17 of Republic Act 9208, or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, recognizes trafficked persons as victims and protects them from criminal liability for offenses directly connected to their trafficking.
The law provides that trafficked persons “shall not be penalized for crimes directly related to the acts of trafficking” or for acts committed in obedience to orders made by their traffickers.
It also expressly states that the consent of a trafficked person to the intended exploitation “shall be irrelevant.”
“Under the non-punishment principle, victims of human trafficking, such as Mary Jane, should not be held criminally liable for acts they committed even if those acts were illegal,” Ty said.
He explained that the principle applies when victims are forced, exploited or deceived into committing an illegal act as part of the trafficking.
“In other words, they were forced, exploited or deceived into doing something, for example, carrying drugs, like what happened to Mary Jane, they should not be held criminally liable,” Ty said.
Ty said the non-punishment principle is also generally recognized in various laws and observed by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including Indonesia.
The principle was among the considerations cited in the recommendation for executive clemency for Veloso, who was convicted and sentenced to death in Indonesia in connection with a drug trafficking case.#