The Rev. Jihyun Oh co-signs a letter seeking clemency and release for human trafficking victim Mary Jane Veloso
In December, Veloso was returned to the Philippines, but she remains in custody there
LOUISVILLE — With a letter in hand from the Rev. Jihyun Oh seeking clemency and release for human trafficking victim Mary Jane Veloso, the Rev. Cathy Chang journeyed last week to the Malacañang Complex in Manila as part of a group of supporters providing continuing advocacy for Veloso, who was imprisoned unjustly in Indonesia for 14 years for unwittingly carrying 2.6 kilos of heroin into that country in luggage provided to her by individuals who had recruited her to work in Malaysia.
Veloso was returned to the Philippines just before Christmas but remains in custody there. Chang, a Global Ecumenical Liaison serving until recently in the Philippines, read aloud a letter addressed to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., signed by Oh, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and the Executive Director of the Interim Unified Agency, and by Bishop Joseph G. Agpaoa, Acting General Secretary of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.
“We ask, how much longer must she suffer before mercy and justice meet in her name?” the letter states. “Mary Jane has suffered long enough. Justice delayed is justice denied. We, as people of faith, cannot be silent, while one of God’s daughters remains imprisoned after surviving exploitation. Her chains must fall — not in theory, but in truth. Let her live freely. Let her heal with dignity. Let Mary Jane Veloso go free.”
"Our family would like to thank all of our supporters, especially from churches who have stood by us in our fight to save Mary Jane's life,” said Nanay Celia Veloso, Mary Jane Veloso’s mother. “We hope you continue to pray for us and help us send a message to President Marcos that now is the time to grant our daughter freedom, end her suffering and listen to our cries for justice."
Chang spoke as part of a panel ahead of delivering the letter from Oh and Agpaoa.
“While I have yet to meet her, Mary Jane’s faith inspires me, leading me to introduce her through sermons with local churches in the Philippines and U.S.,” she told those gathered last week. “Thanks to the financial support from [the PC(USA)], Bishop Francisco Aviso, Jr. joined the Veloso family visit to Indonesia in July 2023.”
Chang noted that July 30 is the World Day Against Trafficking Against Persons. Veloso “has become emblematic,” Chang said. Efforts to keep her quest for justice in people’s minds “are a reflection of her courage and the resilience of the faith communities and her family.”
PC(USA) mid council and church leaders are also being asked to advocate on behalf of Veloso.
“July 30 is World Day against Trafficking in Persons. Many churches, mid councils and agencies in the PC(USA) are engaged in the advocacy to end human trafficking and direct assistance to victims of this system,” a letter to mid council and church leaders states. “Throughout July, join a letter barrage campaign to appeal for Veloso’s freedom to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. Use this template letter to have your church or mid council advocate for Veloso’s release.”
The idea for this joint PC(USA)-UCCP letter came when partner organization Migrante International invited solidarity through the Global Month Action to Free Mary Jane Veloso, marking the 15-year anniversary of Veloso’s arrest in Indonesia. Although initially scheduled for April and May, the plans were delayed but worked out better in light of the July 30 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
“Together we frame Veloso’s case as a gospel call to proclaim liberty and seek justice for the oppressed,” the letter from Oh and Agpaoa sates. Veloso “was trafficked under the false promise of employment, exploited, convicted, and imprisoned. In 2024, after international advocacy and with your government’s diplomatic efforts,” the two faith leaders told Marcos, “she was allowed to return to the Philippines — a long-awaited step toward justice. But let us be clear: she is still not free.”
“Now imprisoned in her own homeland, Mary Jane remains behind bars — even after the Indonesian government has left her fate to Philippine authorities, including the responsibility for granting her clemency. Her traffickers have been convicted in a similar case even while she is poised to testify soon against them.”
Surrounding Veloso and her family during the long ordeal, Chang noted, were Migrante International, an alliance of overseas Filipinos and workers around the world, and Churches Witnessing with Migrants, an organization that “privileges the voices and agency of migrants, refugees and uprooted people.”
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