MANILA, Philippines - Late in the night of Oct. 11, transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude checked into a motel in Olongapo City with US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton.
After about 30 minutes, Pemberton left the room; sometime later, Laude was found dead with his head in the toilet bowl.
The killing, which is again putting to the test the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States, was the biggest case handled by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2014.
The Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office indicted Pemberton for murder on Dec. 15 after finding probable cause during the preliminary investigation.
Pemberton hired lawyers from the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz (ACCRA) law offices and did not appear before prosecutors.
The murder case was filed before the Olongapo Regional Trial Court branch 74, which recently suspended trial after Pemberton’s camp filed a petition with the DOJ questioning the findings of the prosecutors and seeking dismissal of the murder charge.
Laude’s case triggered a debate on the issue of custody of Pemberton.
The DOJ insisted on his transfer to the custody of Philippine authorities following the court’s issuance of an arrest warrant, but the US embassy in Manila rejected such a request from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the nature of the Laude murder case is an “extraordinary circumstance” that could warrant the insistence of Manila for Pemberton’s custody under Article V Paragraph 6 of the VFA.
The provision states that in extraordinary cases, the Philippine government shall present its position to the US government regarding custody, which the latter shall take into full account.
But the US side insisted on keeping Pemberton inside the Mutual Defense Board (MDB) and Security Engagement Board (SEB) facility at Camp Aguinaldo, saying the VFA provides for their custody of American servicemen until completion of all judicial proceedings.
De Lima later admitted the issue of custody is an “inevitable and recurring problem” due to “vague” provisions subject to “differing implementation” from both sides.
Apart from the Laude murder case, two other big cases highlighted the year in the DOJ: the killing of international car racing champion Ferdinand “Enzo” Pastor in Quezon City and the death of De La Salle- College of Saint Benilde student Guillo Cesar Servando after initiation rites of Tau Gamma fraternity. Both incidents happened last June.
Pastor murder
In the case of Pastor, his widow Daliah and her reported lover, businessman Domingo “Sandy” de Guzman, were tagged as brains in the killing by confessed gunman PO2 Edgar Angel during preliminary investigation.
De Guzman surfaced at a hearing last October and denied the murder charge, while Daliah opted not to personally answer the parricide charge and instead sent a lawyer, who questioned the supposed lack of formal complaint and statement against her.
The DOJ panel of prosecutors has yet to issue their findings, but it approved the indictment of Angel for murder and illegal possession of firearms pending his application as state witness.
Angel later recanted his statement and claimed he was forced by arresting Quezon City police to sign the judicial confession, which he said was an “imaginary episode by the police to create a malicious criminal charge against me.”
But the DOJ ignored his recantation and passed it on to the court for assessment.
Servando hazing
Late last year, the DOJ indicted 14 members of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity for the death of Servando after initiation rites.
A non-bailable case for violation of Republic Act 8049 or the Anti-Hazing Law was filed before the Makati City regional trial court against the respondents led by Cody Errol Morales, head of the fraternity’s De La Salle chapter.
Also charged in court were Daniel Paul Martin Bautista, Kurt Michael Almazan, Esmerson Nathaniel Calupas, Hans Killia Tatlonghari, Eleazar Pablico III, John Kevin Navoa, Vic Angelo Dy, Mark Andrew Ramos, Michael David Castañeda, Justin Francis Reyes and three other unidentified persons.
The DOJ filed the case after prosecutors established probable cause on the charges during preliminary investigation.
The DOJ concluded that all 14 accused were present during the initiation rites of Servando and three other neophytes, identified as John Paul Raval, Lorenze Anthony Agustin and Levin Roland Flores held last June 28 in a house on Calatagan St., Barangay Palanan in Makati City.
It stressed that the fraternity conducted the initiation rites without notice and permission from school authorities concerned – in violation of RA 8049.
Vhong, other celebs
The past year was also a star-studded year in the DOJ, so to speak, as showbiz personalities stole the scene at the department in their respective quests for justice.
In February, TV host Vhong Navarro appeared at the DOJ to seek justice after he was beaten up by the group of businessman Cedric Lee, model Deniece Cornejo and five others – Lee’s sister Bernice, mixed martial artist Zimmer Raz, JP Calma, Ferdinand Guerrero and Jed Fernandez – last January.
In April, the DOJ indicted Lee, Cornejo and the others for serious illegal detention with absorbed charges of serious physical injuries, grave threats and illegal arrest.
The crime charged under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code was supposed to be a non-bailable offense, but Lee and Cornejo were granted bail by Taguig RTC Branch 271 Judge Paz Esperanza Cortes.
In September, it was multi-awarded actress Cherry Pie Picache who sought justice at the DOJ for the killing of her 75-year-old mother Zenaida Sison in Quezon City.
A case for robbery with homicide was then filed against suspect 29-year-old Michael Flores before the Quezon City RTC.
Flores was indicted after he confessed to the killing, saying he only intended to rob the victim but was forced to kill her after she recognized him.
The victim’s houseboy for six months said he had just taken shabu when he forced his way into Sison’s house using a screwdriver at 3 a.m. of Sept. 9.
In June, actor Zoren Legaspi appeared before the DOJ to deny the P4.45-million tax evasion charge filed against him by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) over his alleged misdeclaration of income in 2010 and 2012.
The BIR, in a complaint filed last May 8, accused the actor of “willful attempt to evade or defeat tax, and deliberate failure to supply correct and accurate information in his Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for taxable years 2010 and 2012.”
But Legaspi denied the charge, blaming his accountant instead for any lapse.
Three months later it was popular dentist to the stars Steve Mark Gan who faced a P36.49-million tax evasion case before the DOJ.
The BIR investigated Gan after receiving confidential information that he failed to pay his total tax obligations from 2009 to 2011, and that during those years he declared having earned P14.29 million in his income tax returns.
After checking the records of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., the bureau found out that Gan actually earned P47.49 million. The BIR’s findings were based on credit card charges and payments used by the dentist’s clients in paying the doctor from 2009 to 2011.
‘Pork’ cases slow down
In 2014, the DOJ pursued its probe on the anomaly involving the controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of lawmakers.
But it was criticized for slowing down the probe and allegedly being selective in favor of allies of the Aquino administration.
Last May, alleged PDAF scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles offered a list to the DOJ containing the names of former and incumbent lawmakers and executive officials who also benefited from the racket in exchange for her immunity from suit.
Napoles tagged tagged nine incumbent senators. including Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Alan Peter Cayetano, and 69 former and incumbent representatives including Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority head Joel Villanueva.
De Lima even met with Napoles and vowed to investigate the so-called Napolist. But after seven months, no update on the probe was heard from her.
Napoles’ lawyer Bruce Rivera said they were ready to submit supporting evidence as early as May. But he said the probers did not follow up.
When asked for explanation, the DOJ chief attributed the delay to the difficulty in getting special allotment release orders (SARO) on projects of lawmakers tagged by Napoles.
But critics slammed the probe as selective, since it was no longer pursued after the indictment in the Sandiganbayan of opposition Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada.
De Lima also earlier claimed that a third batch of PDAF cases would be filed by the National Bureau of Investigation before the Office of the Ombudsman last June. The fact-finding probe started the previous year when the NBI obtained documents and records from the whistle-blowers.
But she decided to defer the filing due to a finding that Villanueva’s signatures in documents gathered by probers were forged. She said it was “a very important factor” in the fact-finding probe.
Whether or not there will be cases from the Napolist and a third batch of charges remains to be seen.
Senate or Comelec?
Towards the end of the year, talks about De Lima transferring to another post grabbed headlines.
The feisty Cabinet member was said to be among the top choices for replacement of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. upon his retirement in February.
Brillantes has openly endorsed De Lima for the post.
The justice chief was a known election lawyer prior to her joining the government in 2008 as chair of the Commission on Human Rights. Her late father Vicente was also a Comelec commissioner.
But there were also reports that she was being eyed by the ruling Liberal Party for the senatorial race in 2016.
“To be honest about it, people have been asking me but I have not decided yet. I really don’t know yet,” she admitted.
But she said she is considering several options – including a possible political career or going back to private law practice.
“I don’t think I’m retirable by 2016, so I have several options,” she hinted.
De Lima also said it is too early to make such a decision, opting to focus on her duties in the DOJ.