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Life goes on for Mary Jane Veloso.. at least while her temporary reprieve is in force. Whether people power will work in her case or not remains vague. Back in the Philippines, her family and just about every Filipino who finds the death penalty barbaric are praying that she'd be granted executive clemency, the only way, it seems, she'd be able to extricate herself from her dire circumstances.

Will Indonesia's head of state endure the backlash if the decision to execute is handed down? Two decades after the Philippines mourned the hanging of another Filipina overseas worker Flor Contemplacion, the country is once again in the throes of witnessing the impact of capital punishment. IN the case of Mary Jane,

Mary Jane Veloso is a Filipina migrant worker in her early 30s who became a victim of human trafficking. Her arrest, after being accused of bringing heroin that was actually planted in her suitcase, occurred way back in April 2010. The death sentence was handed down in October 2010, but things were in Mary Jane's side - then Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared a moratorium on capital punishment.

Mary Jane Veloso's family has lamented the fact that over the last five years, President Benigno Aquino III's assistance/presence was not felt. It was only now that representatives of Aquino's Administration are exerting all-out effort -- through motions for judicial review and through President Aquino's appeal to the Indonesian government for executive clemency - as a last-ditch attempt to save Mary Jane Veloso.

Even world-renowned Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao had interceded and begged Indonesian President Joko Widodo to grant executive clemency to Veloso. Question is, will it fall on deaf ears? It will be noted that President Widodo had underscored the fact that temporary reprieve was granted to Mary Jane Veloso to allow the Philippine authorities to investigate & produce concrete evidence, specifically since the woman who is said to have recruited Veloso had surrendered to Manila police authorities. Mary Jane Veloso will be testifying.

While there's life, there's hope. As Mary Jane Veloso's life hung in the balance, her legal team is exhausting all legal measures and will still file for a third case review appeal at the Supreme Court. Previous case review appeals were rejected.