Panayam kay DOJ Usec. Raul Vasquez kaugnay ng pagdating sa bansa ni Mary Jane Veloso

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Transcript

00:00When Mary Jane Veloso arrives in the country, we will talk with the Department of Justice Undersecretary Raul Vazquez.

00:10Usec Vazquez, good afternoon to all of you.

00:15Good afternoon to you and good afternoon to all of our viewers and listeners.

00:20Sir, first of all, how is your process here on the return of Mary Jane Veloso from Indonesia?

00:29How is Mary Jane Veloso during this time?

00:34It went perfectly well, I may say, from the time she arrived at the airport

00:41until now that she is already at the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong.

00:48So, we had to ensure strict security protocols to ensure her security

00:56and also her health because she has a bad feeling that she will get sick

01:03according to the composite team members that we sent to Jakarta to take care of Mary Jane.

01:13And everything went according to the process of the Bureau of Corrections

01:21And now, she is already detained at the Correctional Institute for Women in CIW.

01:29But before that, we allowed her family, her family, her lawyers,

01:38and even the Gabriela representative, Congresswoman Arlene Brosas,

01:47to ask for a chance to be with her and we allowed that.

01:52We went towards leniency in order to give them the fullest opportunity to bond, especially the family.

02:03So, that's what happened.

02:06They were given a chance until 12 o'clock earlier to be with her

02:12and from the time she arrived at the airport, her family was already there at the CIW.

02:20Okay, that's good news, sir, that Mary Jane and her family met at the CIW.

02:31How was the mood and emotion in their meeting with her family, Usec?

02:40Well, very emotional, tearful even.

02:45I was able to personally talk to Mary Jane because after our press conference,

02:55we also allowed the media, the members of our media who were present at the press conference,

03:02to see where Mary Jane was detained at the RDC

03:10so that she could have a 6-month processing

03:15so that the media could see that she was not being harassed or that there was no problem

03:20before she was taken to a regular detention center.

03:23What's important is that we were able to get all of the records

03:32so that we could see her situation, her condition, etc.

03:35But I can say that she was okay.

03:39As I said, she was clean. It didn't seem like she was sick.

03:42And what's good about this is that she also happened to be Ilocano

03:47because I am Ilocano from Abra.

03:50Her father and mother are from La Paz, Tarlac.

03:57So we spoke in the Ilocano dialect

04:00and they showed a lot of gratitude to the government

04:06and we were able to bring Mary Jane back to life.

04:10That's good. Usec Raul, you are also Ilocano.

04:13At least you were speaking their language.

04:16You were speaking the language of the parents or the dad of Mary Jane.

04:23Okay.

04:24I was speaking the language of the father.

04:26That's good, Usec.

04:28Usec, when will they be able to see Mary Jane again?

04:34What are the other opportunities for the next few days, especially now that it's Christmas?

04:41Okay.

04:42After this, there will be a 5-day quarantine.

04:46Because we will see if she has any illness or whatever.

04:51Either she has a cold or she has a fever or whatever.

04:55To make sure that her companions in the hospital won't have any problems.

05:01And there will be a 5-day quarantine.

05:05And after that, by the 24th, they can be together again.

05:10And that's what we were talking about earlier,

05:13that they can visit again as a family to be together for Christmas.

05:18And at the same time, they can visit as often as they want

05:22for as long as they will follow the protocols of the Bureau of Correctional Services.

05:26And that applies to even the lawyers.

05:31Okay.

05:32So, as often as they would like after the 5-day quarantine.

05:37Correct.

05:38Okay, and how long?

05:41How long?

05:42Yes.

05:43The normal visitation hours.

05:46Because earlier, they had a lot of people.

05:50They didn't allow that normally.

05:53But we made many exceptions here.

05:57Number of people who could visit,

05:59the access of the media in the RDC,

06:02taking pictures of everyone,

06:06it was full transparency all around.

06:11And we made sure that it was unimpeded and that no one would stop Mary Jane from speaking.

06:20We asked questions to our other media colleagues

06:25and Mary Jane responded directly.

06:27She said that her situation was okay.

06:32So, now that she's here at the Correctional Institute for Women,

06:38Mary Jane Veloso,

06:40will she stay here while serving her sentence?

06:44Or is there a possibility for her to be transferred to another facility?

06:49That depends on the direction and the assessment of our viewpoint

06:58under Director-General Greg Catapang.

07:01Let's say that there's an issue that her family is raising,

07:06and this also has a basis.

07:09Because Sergio, the woman who was sentenced for life imprisonment

07:17because of her illegal recruitment,

07:19was also imprisoned at the Correctional Institute for Women.

07:24And they're saying that there might be security issues.

07:30So we made sure and we issued strict instructions to Director-General Greg Catapang

07:37to ensure the safety and health of Mary Jane Veloso

07:43and that the two should not be together.

07:46And Director-General Greg Catapang said that if necessary,

07:50she can transfer Sergio to another prison facility for women outside of CIW.

07:57Okay, so you're saying that it's not Mary Jane, but Sergio?

08:02No, no.

08:03Because as much as possible,

08:05we also want Mary Jane to be close to her family

08:10because she's the one who's taking care of them,

08:13although her father and mother are from outside of CIW.

08:17All right.

08:18So what is DOJ's reaction to the calls for Mary Jane Veloso to be released?

08:26What are the possibilities here moving forward?

08:32Moving forward,

08:33it is the full and total discretion and prerogative of President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr.

08:41to enforce the Executive Clemency or whatever.

08:45It is the study of all the circumstances

08:54and when and how it is in the power of our President.

09:00And let us not forget that there are also other persons deprived of liberty

09:09who are also imprisoned,

09:11who are sick, who are old, etc.

09:15Even if Mary Jane is the one in the middle of the limelight that we are talking about,

09:22we should also look at the context of the other women who are also imprisoned.

09:28And of course, in our opinion,

09:31if our President is going to enforce the Executive Clemency,

09:35it is not just Mary Jane but other persons deprived of liberty as well.

09:41Another thing we should think about is the advantages we got from these three things.

09:51First, we were able to get her death penalty commuted.

09:58That's the first advantage.

10:01That's the first blessing.

10:02The second blessing is we were able to bring her back here in the Philippines.

10:07And then the third blessing, Nina,

10:09and we have to emphasize this,

10:10is that the moment Mary Jane Veloso was transferred to the Philippines,

10:16she would be subjected just like any other person deprived of liberty

10:20of all the privileges, rights, and prerogatives granted unto persons deprived of liberty.

10:27And we have a good news in that aspect

10:31because we have what we call a Good Conduct Time Allowance

10:36that has an IRR that we just signed

10:40wherein our PDLs can be used

10:46without a record,

10:47their orientation and stay in serving their sentence is good,

10:55and their sentence will be reduced.

10:58This is entitled to persons who have committed heinous crimes

11:05or who are escapees or habitual delinquents.

11:11They can avail of these benefits.

11:16So, all privileges as a person deprived of liberty,

11:23Nina, can be accepted and granted to her.

11:27Yusec, I have a question here.

11:31Can you explain the clemency for Mary Jane

11:36and what about the pardon or parole?

11:41Okay.

11:42The clemency, the executive clemency, is under the prerogative

11:47totally and absolutely by the President.

11:50We cannot include that even in the Supreme Court,

11:57it's beyond judicial question.

12:00As for the parole,

12:03that is a process wherein,

12:06after serving your sentence for a minimum time,

12:13you can consult with the Board of Pardons and Parole

12:18if you can be granted liberty.

12:22This is where the GCPA, the Good Conduct Time Allowance, comes in

12:26because even if your sentence is very long,

12:29if you are a good person inside the prison,

12:32the time can run,

12:35at the same time, you can earn credits.

12:39And because of that, the time you need to serve is getting shorter

12:44before you can avail of parole.

12:49Okay.

12:50I have a question from the GMA News Desk.

12:55How does it apply,

12:58the GCTA that you mentioned,

13:01to a PDL when it shows a good hope inside the prison?

13:08That is an internal thing that is computed by those in charge of all the prisons.

13:17But it's better if you are a family of prisoners,

13:23the persons deprived of liberty,

13:25if possible, you should follow up.

13:28There's nothing wrong with that.

13:29It's not prohibited.

13:33But normally,

13:35our prison authorities regularly check

13:41the records of our persons deprived of liberty.

13:46Especially,

13:48because we already have a centralized digitalization program in the DOJ

13:56where all the records of our persons deprived of liberty are digitized.

14:02This is what we call a single folder.

14:05This is no different from Form 138.

14:08Excuse me.

14:09I don't know if you were able to reach that when you were young.

14:12When you were studying, there's a Form 138 where all your grades are.

14:17If you were released, it's very hard to reconstitute it.

14:21That is the same as the folder that is called to the persons deprived of liberty.

14:25The record is there of when he entered,

14:28what happened to him,

14:31if he was a threat, if he was a violation, etc.

14:34And you will see that there.

14:36And our prison authorities continuously check their records.

14:42And because it's centralized and computerized,

14:46it's easy to trace his name

14:49if he's already qualified

14:53because he's already served a minimum sentence.

14:56Okay.

14:56So, is GCTA applicable here even if he was sentenced abroad?

15:05That's a very good question.

15:07Because that's what we're studying.

15:09Because this is a privilege of the persons deprived of liberty.

15:17We will look at it and study it.

15:22As DG Katapang said earlier,

15:25he will create a technical working group to study it.

15:32But we should always remember this.

15:35Our government's priority is to promote and protect human rights

15:42and the right to liberty.

15:44If there is a way by which we could grant our persons deprived of liberty

15:50a new lease on life,

15:51and that is consistent with the theory of our corrections system,

15:59which is rehabilitation.

16:02And if you're given a chance to return to the mainstream of life,

16:09why not?

16:10Why don't we give our persons deprived of liberty

16:16a chance to atone for their sins and their lives?

16:21That's also the reason why we,

16:24especially in the VIEW Corps,

16:26under the instruction of our secretary, Jesus Crispin Boyeng-Remulia,

16:33we are ordering to decongest our jails as much as possible.

16:40To remove the many people who are confined to their surroundings,

16:47for example, because that's too many.

16:49When we arrived,

16:51the population is 30,000-plus

16:54for a capacity of the prison is only 5,000.

17:01So it's too many.

17:02But anyway, the idea is that

17:06they are being farmed out so that they can get closer to their loved ones in the province.

17:12For example, if you're from Ilocos, you'll be brought there.

17:16If you're from Mindanao, you'll be brought closer there

17:20so that you can have a place to stay.

17:23That's the most important thing.

17:25Because if you're being taken away by your loved ones,

17:28there's a life outside of prison that you can look forward to.

17:32And that is one reason why there is that aspiration

17:36and that longing to be with your family and your loved ones.

17:40That's the most important aspect of all these efforts.

17:44Okay.

17:45Usec, we would also like to ask for an update on the case of Laban

17:49regarding Mary Jane's illegal recruiters.

17:52Now that she is here in the country,

17:55is it possible for her to be brought here for interrogation?

17:59Definitely.

18:00And that's the most important benefit that can result from this.

18:04Because when she was still in the Yogyakarta Penitentiary,

18:11it was very difficult to facilitate her testifying

18:16due to the requirements of Indonesia

18:20that Indonesian lawyers should ask Mary Jane there.

18:26And that was not allowed in our process.

18:31Now that she is here,

18:33the prosecution and eventual completion

18:38to its final conclusion of the two serious offenses

18:42that are pending right now in RTC Nueva Ecija,

18:48the qualified human trafficking and the estafa,

18:52will surely be expedited.

18:55Because first, Mary Jane can testify via video conferencing

19:03according to the requirements of the Supreme Court.

19:07Or if it is really necessary, she can be brought to court.

19:11But as much as possible,

19:14what they do is video conferencing,

19:16especially if our internet connection and other facilities are able to do so.

19:24Alright.

19:25Thank you very much for your time,

19:28Department of Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez.

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