ADVISORY ON PROVIDING VIDEO-LINK EVIDENCE PROCEEDINGS IN THE PHILIPPINES IN COURT CHR A2019-006 The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (hereafter ‘the Commission’) issues this advisory to bring the Philippines' attention to the need for Overseas Filipino Workers (‘OFWSs") to be able tc give evidence in court proceedings held in the Philippines by videolink testimony. INTRODUCTION There are an estimated 2.3 million OFWs who worked abroad during the period April to September 2018.! Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Taiwan and Qatar are popular destinations for OFW5s.2 All of these countries, except Hong Kong, have the death penalty. The significant Filipino population overseas are at risk of unfair punishment within the criminal justice system of foreign states. In particular, OFWs who are victims of human trafficking are at risk of unintentionally trafficking illegal substances. If such persons are incarcerated in a foreign country, it is near impossible for them to provide evidence in criminal proceedings held in the Philippines. The evidence of OFWs is central to human trafficking prosecutions. Without such evidence, many of these matters would be unable to proceed. who This situation has been illustrated in the case of Mary-Jane Veloso, an OFW was convicted of drug trafficking by an Indonesian court in 2010 and sentenced to death. Ms. Veloso has maintained her innocence. After she lost her job in Dubai, she claims she was duped into travelling to Indonesia carrying a suitcase that would later be found to contain heroin.3 She was granted a last-minute stay of execution in 2015 after the Aquino administration diplomatically intervened on her behalf.4 A case alleging Ms. Veloso is a victim of human recruiters.5 trafficking had been initiated in the Philippines against her alleged Under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations mutual legal assistance treaty (“Asean MLAT?”), Indonesia is obliged to allow Ms. Veloso to testify as a witness in this human trafficking case.6 Her testimony is essential to the proceedings in the Philippines. * philippine Statistics Authority (27 June 2019) available at https://psa.gov.ph/statistics/survey/labor-and-employment/labor-force: ev’%-Z(’u f,urvr?v/lilie/Tol‘m%ZONumber%ZOof%ZODFWs%ZOEstimated%zflat%ZOZ.B%ZOMiHion%ZD%ZSResu!ts%Zofrom%zmhe%2020lS‘)@ZO&urv 5%20Filipines%29. 2\d. 3 DEBORAH WILLIS, ET. AL, WOMEN AND MIGRATION: RESPONSES IN ART AND HISTORY 217 (2019). 2016, available 4 Oliver Holmes, ‘Mary Jane Veloso: what happened to the woman who escaped execution in Indonesia?,” THE GUARDIAN, 28 April at https: /www.theguardian,com[world(201SZaQr[28[mary-'ane—veloso-indonesia—execution»regrieve (last accessed 26 September 2019). / 5 1d. Commonwealth A Philippines !