A Philippines cabinet minister has denied claims President Rodrigo Duterte gave the go-ahead for Indonesia to execute a Filipino woman who is on death row for drug trafficking.
The clarification came after Indonesia President Joko Widodo said Duterte had told him to proceed with the execution of Mary Jane Veloso.
Veloso was given an 11th-hour reprieve when she was due to be executed in April 2015 alongside Australian Bali Nine members Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran after Philippine authorities requested her testimony in an ongoing legal case in her home country.
But Emmanuel Pinol, Philippines' agriculture secretary, said there was an understanding the execution had been postponed indefinitely.
"The president never agreed to execute Mary Jane," Pinol said.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, right, walks with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo on September 9 (AAP) Source: AAP
"What he said was that we respect your law, we will not interfere with your judicial process but we will ask for clemency."
In a statement posted on the Indonesian cabinet secretary's website, Widodo said he had discussed the suspended execution with Duterte during his visit to Indonesia last week.
"President Duterte said at the time to go ahead with the execution," Widodo said after conducting Eid prayers in Serang, Banten province.
He said he told Duterte that Veloso had been caught carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin when she was arrested at Yogyakarta's airport in April 2010, before being sentenced to death in October the same year.
When he arrived from his visit from Indonesia, Duterte did not give details on the discussion about Veloso's case, saying what was talked about was not for public consumption.
Both Widodo and Duterte are currently waging a war on drugs in their respective countries.
Under Widodo, who took office in 2014, Indonesia has executed 18 people convicted for drug trafficking.
In the Philippines, 1,011 suspected drug users and dealers have been killed in police operations between July 1 and September 4, according to police statistics.
Police also recorded 1,391 deaths during the same period which are still being investigated.
