MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is seeking custody of a US Marine detained on a US Navy amphibious assault vessel by his superiors for the murder a Filipino transgender he met in a bar during a furlough in Olongapo City Saturday night.
The body of Jeffrey Laude, 26, also known as Jennifer, was found by a staff of Celzone Lodge less than an hour after the victim checked into a room with an unidentified blonde male, who turned out to be Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton of the 2nd Battalion 9th Marines based in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFACOM) executive director Eduardo Oban said the Philippines would insist on getting custody of Pemberton because Laude’s murder was an “extraordinary case.”
“That’s why we are asserting Philippine jurisdiction over this case. We’ll request for custody,” Oban said.
The US embassy, meanwhile, expressed its “deepest condolences” to the family and friends of Laude.
US Ambassador Philip Goldberg, in a statement posted on his Twitter account @AMBGoldberg, said: “We will continue to coordinate closely with Philippine law enforcement in the ongoing investigation.” The US embassy in Manila echoed the statement on its Twitter account.
While the VFA allows the US to take custody of its erring personnel, it gives the local courts jurisdiction over cases involving US servicemen.
“Assuming that the particular serviceman is with US now, it’s with them but it doesn’t prevent us from submitting the government position regarding custody. And the US government in accordance with VFA provisions should take that into full account,” Oban pointed out.
The Department of Foreign Affairs also vowed to work on getting custody of Pemberton, but DFA spokesman Charles Jose said there is no guarantee the US would grant their request.
“They have primary custody and we’ll request them to give him over to us, to waive custody, meaning we’ll take custody. So we’ll request and it’s not a guarantee they’ll grant it, so they may continue to have custody over the suspect,” Jose said in a press briefing.
“The case with its various implications is very important to us, so we would like to retain jurisdiction over this case,” he said.
Pemberton was part of the 3,500-member US contingent in the Philippines engaged in joint military exercises, which ended last week.
P-Noy’s directive
At Malacañang, President Aquino ordered authorities to do everything they could to serve justice to Laude, but conceded the US could choose to keep the suspect under its custody under the VFA.
“Of course as Chief Executive of the country, (the President) takes this matter seriously and he wants the government to do what is necessary – this is what the VFA Commission is working on,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a press briefing.
He said Aquino had spoken with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario regarding the matter.
Coloma said Oban gave assurance “the Philippine and US governments have agreed on the importance of a thorough investigation so that the ends of justice will be served.”
Coloma also said it would be up to the Philippine National Police to discuss the details of the incident. He said the PNP is coordinating with the Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) in its inquiry into the matter.
“The VFA contains specific provisions on the legal processes to ensure that justice will prevail. The Philippine government is firmly committed to attain this objective,” he added.
Coloma also said the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement is unlikely be affected by the incident.
“In all of these matters, it is the national interest of the Philippines that will be upheld. As we know, there is a question that has been raised before the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the EDCA; and as you know also, for the EDCA to be fully effective, there will have to be specific implementing rules and regulations, and that is still an ongoing process,” he said.
“So, I am simply stating that the Philippines is undertaking all of these measures within the broad context of its national defense program, which is the framework for the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement,” Coloma said.
Coloma said he would ask the VFA Commission to explain what happened to the review of the VFA that President Aquino ordered in 2010 following the rape case involving US soldier Daniel Smith.
“The purpose of this office (VFA Commission) is to administer the provisions of the VFA in order that the interest of the Filipino people and government will be upheld,” he said.
“There are prevailing provisions. These are part of the agreement. The VFA was ratified by the Philippine Senate. If there are changes needed, the VFA Commission will have to study it and (propose) the necessary changes,” Coloma said.
“Our government is fully committed to ensure that the rights of our citizens are properly protected and to provide justice,” he said.
Insisting on custody
For Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Jose Justiniano, the US can insist on keeping Pemberton under its custody during the course of his trial.
Justiniano was one of the defense lawyers of the four US Marines who stood trial for the 2005 rape of Suzette Nicolas alias Nicole in Subic.
The DOJ official cited Article 5, Section 6 of the VFA, which provides that “the custody of any United States personnel over whom the Philippines is to exercise jurisdiction shall immediately reside with United States military authorities, if they so request, from the commission of the offense until completion of all judicial proceedings.”
He recalled that this was the same provision invoked by the US government when it took Smith into its custody.
“We can expect that the US government will request the custody. But the jurisdiction has to remain with us from preliminary investigation up to trial. There’s no question about that,” he pointed out.
Asked if the Laude slay case would be more difficult to resolve compared to the Subic rape case, Justiniano answered in the negative.
“What is important are the witnesses. The last companions of victim and the suspect before the incident would be material witnesses, and also the CCTV footages reported in the media will be crucial evidence,” he suggested.
But Sen. Francis Escudero said the Philippine government should not give up criminal jurisdiction over Pemberton.
“Criminal jurisdiction should belong to us, including the custody until the case is finished,” he said as he renewed his call for a review of the VFA.
“Can an American be better off than the Filipino who can be jailed up to 10 years because of the one-year prescription period (under the VFA)?” he asked.
Senate acting minority leader Vicente Sotto III also called for a review of the VFA.
Sen. Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Senate committee on foreign relations, said: “Justice must be served soon.”
Meanwhile, Gabriela party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan asked the government to make sure Pemberton is put under Philippine custody.
“If the Philippine government continues to fail in asserting our jurisdiction over these criminal cases and in asserting our sovereignty in these military agreements, Filipinos, especially women and children, will continue to be subjected to situations of exploitation and abuse and will continue to bear the injustices of US military presence in the country,” Ilagan said. With Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero, Edu Punay, Aurea Calica, AFP