Tension breaks out as Jennifer’s kin arrive at AFP headquarters

MANILA, Philippines - Tension gripped the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City yesterday after a sister and the fiancé of slain transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude tried to enter the compound where suspect US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton is detained.

It started when Laude’s mother Julita, his sisters Marilou and Michelle, his German boyfriend Marc Suselbeck and their lawyers Harry Roque and Virgie Suarez arrived in Camp Aguinaldo at around 3:30 p.m.

They demanded that soldiers guarding the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) facility let them enter the restricted area where Pemberton is held pending preliminary investigation on the murder of Laude.

“I want to know why he (Pemberton) did it. Maybe they think they can do it to us because we are poor and they are rich,” an angry Julita told reporters.

“He should not hide there! He is good in killing people and yet he is hiding there,” she added.

The Laude family, Suselbeck and their lawyers asked the military police to let them in, saying they only wanted to make sure that Pemberton is really in the shipping container converted into a detention cell.

The soldiers, however, refused, saying they are just following orders from their superiors.

Roque then confronted the soldiers by accusing them of favoring an American over their fellow Filipino.

He also shouted at American servicemen who were seen guarding the shipping container.

“Hey you, what are you doing there? This is not your territory,” Roque said.

Seeing that the guards would not yield to her family’s demands, Marilou decided to climb over the fence and was able to enter the compound.

Members of the military police remained calm as they asked her to leave the restricted area. Laude’s mother, meanwhile, continued to yell at the soldiers.