Mary Jane to be free: Marcos confirms signing absolute pardon

September 25, 2026

By ABOGADO.COM.PH Staff

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday confirmed that he has granted absolute pardon to Mary Jane Veloso, the overseas Filipino worker who was convicted of trafficking heroin in Indonesia.

“Pinirmahan ko na… Pinirmahan ko na ‘yung pardon nya kahapon,” the President said in an interview in Samar.

Veloso’s pardon was initially floated by Bataan 2nd District Representative Albert Raymond “Abet” Garcia, who sponsored the Office of the President’s budget during the House’s plenary deliberations.

Malacañang later confirmed that Marcos was seriously considering granting pardon to Veloso, who was transferred to the Philippines in 2024 to serve her life sentence.

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace press officer Claire Castro did not give a timeline foe this process, but noted Veloso’s claims of innocence since the beginning.

Veloso was sentenced to death for drug trafficking in 2010, but this was commuted to life imprisonment in 2015 following an appeal from then President Benigno Aquino III.