T

he Attorney General'€™s Office (AGO) has said that death row drug convict Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso from the Philippines will not give testimony as a witness in a trial taking place in her home country on Friday as previously scheduled.

AGO spokesman Tony T. Spontana said on Thursday that the Philippines government had yet to send the AGO an official notification on when Veloso would testify through video link as a witness against her alleged trafficker, Maria Kristina Sergio, who turned herself in to authorities on April 28.

'€œBased on the first request letter from the Philippines government, they asked for Mary Jane [Veloso] to testify on May 8 and 14. However, we have still not received an official notification,'€ he said.

Veloso was among nine death row inmates scheduled to face a firing squad on April 29 for drug trafficking convictions, but her name was dropped from the list at the eleventh hour following intense lobbying from Philippine officials.

She was arrested in possession of 2.6 kilograms of heroin at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta in 2010.

Since Veloso was prohibited from leaving Indonesia, Tony said, the official notification from the Philippines government would allow the AGO to start preparing equipment for the video conference. Furthermore, the notification would be an official notice that the Philippines government was willing to cover all associated expenses.