A polandball comic about the kerfuffle. Also this Filipino "literally" dodged a bullet here
Philippine press caught out by last-minute execution reprieve for Mary Jane Veloso
News of the execution being cancelled by the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, came too late for most Filipino newspapers’ final print editions
Some of the newspapers’ headlines saying Mary Jane Veloso had been executed. Photograph: Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images
Agence France-Presse
Wednesday 29 April 2015 07.15 BST
Several Philippine newspapers were caught out Wednesday by the last-minute execution reprieve for Mary Jane Veloso, running front-page headlines bidding her farewell and accusing the government of failing to save her.
“Death came before dawn” read the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s dramatic headline, above a large photograph of Veloso, 30, whose plight has captivated the nation.
Manila’s best-selling Filipino-language tabloid, Abante, ran a black-themed front page together with a picture of Veloso, head bowed, and a headline in capitals that translates as: “Farewell, Mary Jane”.
Indonesia defied global anger to execute eight drug smugglers by firing squad early on Wednesday, but spared Veloso at the 11th hour in a decision her ecstatic family welcomed as a “miracle”.
Veloso had always claimed an international trafficking gang tricked her into bringing 2.6kg (5.7 pounds) of heroin to Indonesia from
Malaysia five years ago as she chased a nonexistent job as a domestic worker.
The Indonesian president,
Joko Widodo, granted the reprieve after Cristina Sergio, suspected of recruiting Veloso, turned herself in to authorities in the Philippines.
However, the news of the cancelled midnight execution came too late for most Filipino newspapers rushing to put out their final print editions.
“PNOY is to blame” the tabloid Standard’s headline read, referring to criticism over the supposed “negligence” of the government of Benigno Aquino, using media shorthand for his nickname, president Noynoy.
“All hopes fade” was the Manila Times’ headline, and the Manila Bulletin reflected the drama across three editions with the evolving headlines “We’re hoping for a miracle”, “No delay in execution” and, finally, “Veloso granted reprieve”.
The erroneous print-edition headlines swiftly became fodder for ridicule; the online news site Coconuts Media ran an item chiding the media for “killing” Veloso.
One Facebook user posted a composite picture of the front page snafu together with one of the US president-elect Harry Truman holding a copy of the famous Chicago Tribune headline “Dewey defeats Truman”.
“Proof that journalism hasn’t really changed much in the past six decades,” the caption read.
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Supporters rejoice after hearing the news of Veloso’s stay of execution. Photograph: Jay Ganzon/Demotix/Corbis
The last-minute reprieve sparked an outpouring of euphoria and disbelief on Wednesday, with crowds of supporters weeping with joy and her children crying, “Mama will live!”
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Mary Jane Veloso’s family said its prayers had been answered after it emerged that the 30-year-old single mother was not among a group of foreign drug convicts sent to the firing squad shortly after midnight.
“Miracles do come true,” Veloso’s mother, Celia, told Manila radio from Indonesia.
Protesters who had been keeping vigil outside the Indonesian embassy in Manila wept with joy, hugged each other and raised clenched fists in the air.
Veloso’s sons, aged six and 12, who went to Indonesia last week to say goodbye to their mother, were overjoyed and yelled: “Yes, yes! Mama will live!” their grandmother said.
On Tuesday the
Philippines president, Benigno Aquino, also offered Veloso as a witness against drug rings operating in Indonesia.
Aquino’s spokesman, Herminio Coloma, described Veloso as a “victim”, and said the whole nation was grateful to Indonesia and thanking God that her life had been spared.
The Philippines is a deeply Catholic country and a priest, Father Harold Toledano, who had been counselling the Veloso family, said Veloso never lost hope that she would be saved.
“It’s like a resurrection for us. She is alive. It is like an experience of knowing someone has died and then, just risen,” Toledano said in Cilacap, where Veloso’s family kept vigil.
“It’s too good to be true. It’s a miracle. It’s amazing.”
Veloso’s Filipino lawyer, Edre Olalia, said the Veloso family in Cilacap jumped and shouted for joy when they were informed of the reprieve.
In Veloso’s hometown of Cabanatuan city, around two hours’ drive north of Manila, relatives were also relieved.
“This is nothing short of a miracle. We are overjoyed. Praise God,” Veloso’s aunt, Imelda Magday, told local television.
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Two relatives of Mary Jane Veloso after returning from the prison island of Nusa Kambangan after hearing of her reprieve Photograph: Beawiharta/Reutrs
“I felt this surge of energy when I heard the news. I thank the Lord. Mary Jane, don’t worry, we will see each other soon,” Veloso’s grandmother, Milagros Fiesta, said in a separate television interview.
On Tuesday, Sergio, 47, turned herself in to police in Cabanatuan, claiming she had been receiving death threats because of the Veloso family’s allegations, provincial police chief Superintendent Rey de la Cruz said.
Sergio had no previous criminal record and was not under arrest, he said.
Organised crime investigators have filed a human trafficking and fraud complaint against her and the justice department is expected to decide soon whether charges will be filed in court.
The foreign affairs secretary, Albert del Rosario, said the government would “pursue full investigation of those accountable for the victimisation of Mary Jane”.
