JAKARTA — The new Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong”

Marcos Jr is expected to arrive in Jakarta today for a three-day visit,

as part of his tour to introduce himself to fellow ASEAN leaders.

But more than just a courtesy visit, Bongbong will carry a more pressing
agenda when meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, namely to
save a Filipino citizen from execution.

Yogyakarta District Court sentenced Mary Jane Veloso to death in

October 2010 after finding her guilty of trafficking heroin in April of that
year.

Then president Benigno Aquino III rescued her from the death squad in
April 2015 in the very last minutes, after he phoned President Jokowi.
Her execution was delayed but the death sentence remains.

Mary Jane can hope for pardon or clemency from Jokowi as a last resort
and Bongbong can convince Jokowi that she deserves it, although the
Philippines under Bongbong’s predecessor Rodrigo Duterte saw a more
brutal fight against drugs than Indonesia.

The Jokowi administration has since 2017 suspended executions

following pressures from outside and within. Indonesian law is among
the world’s harshest against drug-related crimes. Dozens of drug
convicts on death row are now waiting for judgment day in several
prisons across the country.