Indonesian
President Joko Widodo went out on a limb for the Philippines when he ordered a
last-minute stay on the execution of Mary Jane Veloso.
It was
the first time Widodo granted a reprieve to a convicted drug dealer since he
assumed office last year and launched the campaign to stop drug trafficking in
his country. The reason he cited to justify the reprieve—to enable Veloso to
testify against drug rings operating in Indonesia—does not, strictly speaking,
constitute newly found evidence that would warrant such action.
It
probably helped that President Aquino talked to Indonesia’s foreign minister, a
woman, about this and she passed on the idea to Widodo before Veloso could be
tied to the firing stake.
Although
Veloso’s death sentence has not been lifted, Widodo did the Philippines a favor
when he gave her an indefinite lease on life.
Earlier,
he rejected the appeals of Australia and Brazil to grant clemency to their
citizens who, like Veloso, have been convicted for drug trafficking.
If the
investigation that Veloso is set to get involved in shows she was an unwitting
victim of a drug ring, or information vital to Indonesia’s
anti-drug-trafficking campaign is discovered, Widodo may be persuaded to reduce
her sentence to life imprisonment.
In the
days after Veloso’s execution was put on hold, I scanned The Jakarta Post, the
most widely read English-language newspaper in Indonesia, to find out the
Indonesians’ reaction to their president’s unprecedented move.
The
commentaries and letters to the editor in the broadsheet did not express strong
adverse reaction to the reprieve despite the fact that an Indonesian was also
executed on the day Veloso was supposed to suffer the same fate.
The
Indonesian people probably empathize with Veloso because many Indonesian women,
like Filipino women, work as domestic helpers in different parts of the world.
The
liberal treatment Widodo extended to Veloso did not come to me as a surprise.
The friendship between the Philippines and Indonesia stands on a high level. On
several occasions, Indonesia assisted the Philippines in its advocacies in
Asean.
On a
personal note, I have noticed an almost spontaneous camaraderie between
Filipinos and Indonesians in regional and international business conferences.
This rapport may be attributed to our common Malay stock, and the similarity in
political and social problems that our countries have gone through. It also
helps that certain words in Bahasa, the Indonesian language, and Filipino have
the same meaning.
From
experience, it’s easier to make friends with Indonesians than with Singaporeans
who tend to be standoffish on account of their advanced economic development,
or with Malaysians who consider themselves the poster boy of Islamic wealth in
Asia, or with Thais whose unique ethnic and cultural upbringing sometimes makes
it difficult for them to relate to their neighbors.
This
ease of friendship often results in Filipinos and Indonesians spending time
together after the end of official business activities, seeming to share a love
for friendly banter over good food and refreshing drinks.
I
experienced what I consider my ultimate test of Indonesian friendship sometime
in the late 1990s when then Indonesian President Suharto was ousted from power
and mobs of angry youth roamed the business district of Jakarta.
There
was an anti-West frenzy at that time. Foreigners were advised by the
authorities to stay off the streets and avoid contact with roaming
antigovernment protesters.
The
hotel in which I was staying asked all non-Indonesian guests to leave and go to
the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to catch flights out of the country.
Arrangements
were made for soldiers to escort the hotel vans taking the guests to the
airport. For security reasons, the Asian guests did not ride with the
Westerners.
Due to
the chaos in the streets, some vehicles got cut off from the military escort,
and the passengers were left to fend for themselves.
Small
youth groups brandishing sticks and machetes banged on the vehicles’ windows,
demanding that the passengers show their passports.
Holders
of American and European passports were jeered at and, if not for the timely
intervention of the hotel security staff on board, would have been dragged out
of the vehicles. It was a very scary and dangerous situation.
There
were three other Filipinos in the van I rode. When we showed our passports, the
youths who accosted us smiled and shouted, “Filipino, Filipino, OK, OK!” They
motioned to their companions who were blocking the van to let us through.
The
other guests we rode with, whose nationalities I didn’t get to know or even
thought of asking because of the tense situation, profusely thanked us, having
benefited from the goodwill the Indonesian showed us.
After 30
agonizing minutes, we got to the airport and boarded our flights out of
Jakarta. Never had a Philippine passport been so valuable to me than at that
time.
Going
back to Veloso’s case, the reprieve is a small victory, if not a miracle. We do
not know how things will finally play out.
If the
leftists and Vice President Jejomar Binay are to be believed, everyone except
President Aquino should be given credit for saving Veloso from the gallows for
the time being. In my book, the longstanding good relations between Filipinos
and Indonesians made a big difference in Widodo’s decision to give Veloso a new
lease on life.
Terima
kasih (Thank you), Indonesia, for this latest and past favors. We hope we can
reciprocate your goodwill in the future. -end-
Commentary:
Raul Palabrica
Philippine Daily Inquirer
