Aquino appeals to Indonesia one more time to keep Filipina alive

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Benigno Aquino said he made one last appeal to the Indonesian government to spare a Filipina among nine prisoners set to be executed for drug trafficking on Tuesday as she could be a vital witness in prosecuting drug syndicates. It was Aquino's third personal appeal, after the Indonesian attorney general rejected the Philippines' request on Monday for a second judicial review of the case of Mary Jane Veloso, who her lawyers say merely served as an unknowing mule to drug traffickers. Aquino told reporters in the Malaysian resort of Langkawi, where he is attending a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders, that Veloso has started to cooperate with authorities in going after her recruiter, abandoning her past hesitation. "She does present an opportunity right now to be able to uncover all the participants and start the process of bringing them to the bars of justice. So we presented that," Aquino said. "It seems to serve both of our interest to keep her alive to be able to testify, and it serves the ends of justice for both our concerns," he said. But Indonesia's Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo said Veloso was given enough opportunity to defend herself. "Now she says she's a victim of human trafficking. But all are coming up now. Why not from before? I think these are just efforts to delay the execution," Prasetyo said. "We have given her all legal avenues. Don't force us to change. If we're not firm, it means we're weak in the war against drugs," he said. Veloso's lawyers filed a human trafficking complaint recently against her recruiter Maria Cristina Sergio, who they allege promised the death-row inmate a job as a domestic worker but instead led her to become a drug mule. Sergio voluntarily surrendered to police on Tuesday in Nueva Ecija province north of the capital Manila, seeking protection after saying she had received death threats via her social media accounts and mobile phone. In a statement, the Nueva Ecija police said Sergio denied all the allegations against her. Veloso is one of nine drug traffickers ordered by Indonesian authorities to die in a mass execution that may proceed possibly within hours. Indonesia has harsh punishments for drug crimes and resumed executions in 2013 after a five-year gap. (Reporting by Rosemarie Francisco; Additional reporting by Gayatri Suroyo in Jakarta; Editing by Jeremy Laurence and Alex Richardson)