[Inside the Newsroom] Mary Jane Veloso made us cry and realize why we want to be journalists

September 25 was supposed to be a normal Friday work day, until President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced in an interview: he has pardoned former overseas worker Mary Jane Velasco. I alerted my desk editors, broke the story, and triggered Rappler’s 48-hour coverage of Veloso’s release and freedom. Hello! This is justice reporter Jairo Bolledo. TEARS OF JOY. Mary Jane Veloso is emotional during a video call with her family before a press conference, prior to her repatriation to the Philippines, at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, December 17, 2024. Photo by Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters I broke down in tears as I was choosing a display photo for the story on Veloso’s pardon. I picked a 2024 photograph where she was crying and talking to her family via video call. It was taken on the day of her return to the Philippines.

I knew it was going to be a long weekend ahead of us. At any moment, Veloso would be released from the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City. While waiting for updates in the afternoon, I wrote, shot, and edited a video explainer on Veloso’s case. In the early evening, as I headed for dinner with colleagues, a Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) official announced that Veloso would be released that night — at 8 pm. Because all Rappler cars were out on other coverages, head of news operations Acor Arceo drove me and fellow reporter Jelo Ritzhie Mantaring to CIW. We arrived a few minutes before 8 pm. There was a table set up inside the CIW’s holding area. The last time I was in that room was when I covered Veloso’s transfer from Indonesia to the Philippines . At past 8:30 pm, a smiling Veloso — dressed in white shirt and gray sweatpants — entered the room. She was beaming the whole time. She was a different…