Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Filipina on death row Mary Jane Veloso will not be allowed to leave Indonesia because she is a convict, Indonesian Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla said here on Thursday.

"She will certainly not be allowed (to go back to the Philippines) because she is a convict in Indonesia. Filipino investigators may come here," he stated in his office.

Mary Janes execution was postponed following a new development in her case in the Philippines that now requires her testimony.

Regarding the duration of the postponement of Mary Janes execution, Kalla affirmed that it would not take years, as long as the process in the Philippines is smooth.

"I do not think it will take too long, as long as the process in the Philippines is carried out smoothly," he remarked.

The vice president reiterated that the postponement of Mary Janes execution was based on Indonesias respect for the law in the Philippines.

On Tuesday, the day the execution was scheduled to take place, Mary Janes recruiters Maria Kristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilo were reported to have surrendered to law enforcement authorities in the Philippines. This made the Indonesian government postpone her execution as she would be needed to testify in court.

Moreover, Mary Jane is suspected to be a mere victim of human trafficking in the Philippines.

Minister of Justice of the Philippines Leila de Lima noted that the case would be investigated from May 8 to 14.

Mary Jane admitted that she met Sergio in Petaling Jaya in Malaysia and was promised a job in the country.

However, Sergio later ordered her to smuggle heroin to Indonesia through the Adisutjipto Airport in Yogyakarta, Central Java.

Furthermore, Kalla denied that the decision to postpone Mary Janes execution was a sudden one.

"It takes days to complete processes, not hours. Perhaps he (the recruiter) was sorry to see Mary Jane being executed and moved to confess his crime," he pointed out.

According to the vice president, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Filipino President Benigno Aquino III continued to communicate about the case, including during the recent commemorative Asian-African Conference in Jakarta and the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia.

(Reported by Fransiska Ninditya/Uu.H-YH/INE/KR-BSR/B003)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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