Boxing champ Manny Pacquiao has urged Indonesian President Joko Widodo to spare the life of overseas Filipino Worker who was convicted of drug trafficking in Indonesia.
Pacquiao said that on behalf of the Filipino people, he is “begging and knocking at your kind heart that your excellency will grant executive clemency to [Veloso] by sparing her life and saving her from execution.”
“Mr. President, on May 2, I will be fighting in Las Vegas, Nevada against [Floyd] Mayweather, which is considered the fight of the century. It will be a great morale booster if in my own little way I can save a life,” he added in a statement forwarded to radio DZMM.
“I am dedicating this fight to my country and the entire Asian people to which the Philippines and Indonesia belong.”, the boxer said.
Veloso will be shot dead on Tuesday.
Mary Jane’s mother Celia Veloso earlier seek help from Pacquiao to make an appeal for her daughter’s life insisting she is just a victim of the drug trafficking.
“Kung nanonood man o nagbabasa ng dyaryo o nakikinig ng radyo si Manny Pacquiao, sana, Manny, tulungan mo ang anak ko. Magsalita ka naman kahit kaunti lang alang-alang sa kanyang dalawang anak. Nakikiusap ako sa iyo, kaunting salita lang. Ikaw, malakas na malakas dito sa Indonesia. Matunog na matunog ang pangalan mo sa laban na ito. Sana maski kaunting salita lang ang ibigay mo. Salamat, Manny,” she said.
Mary Jane’s sibling appealed to the Pacman.
Dina Vanessa Mercado, a member of the Pacquiao camp in the US, confirmed that Pacquiao has already informed about the request Mary Jane’s family.
DZMM report earlier said that Pacquaio has agreed to do the appeal after consulting his lawyer.
H/T: ABS-CBN News; and screen grab photo
