MANILA - The family of convicted drug mule Mary Veloso appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday to save her from execution in Indonesia, saying it was his duty as father of the nation.

Veloso's mother, Celia, wept as she told ABS-CBN's "Umagang Kay Ganda" that the family had not received official word on her case.

The President met with his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, in Jakarta last week. Duterte said he told Widodo to "go ahead and implement the law," but clarified it was not in direct reference to Widodo's case.

"Kaya nga po tayo binigyan ng isang ama sa Pilipinas para mayroon tayong tatakbuhan. Para ano pa po na nagkaroon tayo ng isang ama kung sa tulad naming mahihirap ay walang tutulong? [The Philippines was given a father so that we would have someone to run to. Why else would we have a father if there would be no one to help poor people like us?]" Veloso's mother said.

"Mahal na Pangulo, alam ko po na hindi niyo po papabayaan si Mary Jane... Kayo na po ang tumayong magulang namin, wala po kaming ibang tatakbuhan kundi kayo lang. Nakikiusap po ako sa inyo na sana naman po ipaglaban ninyo ang karapatan ni Mary Jane. [Mr. President, I know that you won't neglect Mary Jane... Please stand as our parent, we have no one else to turn to. Please defend the right of Mary Jane.]" she added.

The Veloso family left their Nueva Ecija home on Monday, hoping to secure a meeting with Duterte in Manila, she said.

She said the family did not believe reports that Duterte had told Widodo to proceed with Mary Jane's execution.

"Hindi rin po ako naniniwala na sasabihin ating Pangulo iyun... Mayroon po siyang binitawang salita sa TV, napanood po namin mismo, na 'no comment'. Gusto raw po niyang makaharap ang buong pamilya at kami lang daw po ang makakaalam sa sasabihin niya. [I don't believe that the President would say that... He issued a statement on TV, we watched it ourselves, he said 'no comment.' He said he wanted to talk with our whole family and that we'll be the only ones who will know what he said.]" she said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. also said in an interview on ANC that the President might seek clemency for Mary Jane if Philippine courts prove that her recruiters tricked her into smuggling heroin.

However, Duterte also said Tuesday that he felt awkward about "begging" Widodo to spare Mary Jane's life, since he was waging war on illegal drugs.