Court urged to reconsider ruling on Pemberton jail transfer

MANILA, Philippines - The family of slain transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude has asked Olongapo City Regional Trial Court Branch 74 to reconsider its decision denying their plea to transfer US Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton to a regular jail.

Their counsel Harry Roque Jr. also asked the court to allow media coverage of the murder trial.

Roque said the court erred in dismissing the motions on the ground that the complainant violated the three-day notice under the Rules of Court.

Under the rules, every written motion must be served on the adverse party at least three days before date of hearing.

Roque said Pemberton’s camp had been informed of the motions and given the opportunity to present their side.

Felimon Ray Javier, collaborating counsel for Pemberton, as well as City Prosecutor Emilie Fe delos Santos, were both present during the hearing of the motions and made their comments, he added.

Roque said the rule is not absolute as its purpose is just to ensure that rights are protected. The Laude family has the right to access to justice under international human rights law, he added.

Roque said international law exempts them from the requirement that a public prosecutor must conform to the motion to be filed in court.

“Under international human rights law, the private complainant and her family members have the right to access to justice, a right that is separate and distinct from the power of the public prosecutors to prosecute the criminal case,” he said.

Roque said the issues raised in their motions are of “transcendental importance and of primordial public interest.”

It is essential that the e-court resolve the two motions on its substantive merits, he added.

The Laude family also reiterated their position that Pemberton should be with Philippine authorities, citing Article V, Paragraph 3 (b) of the Visiting Forces Agreement.

That provision states that “within the scope of their legal competence, the authorities of the Philippines and the US shall assist each other in the arrest of US personnel in the Philippines and in handing them over to authorities who are to exercise jurisdiction in accordance with the provisions of this article.”

They cited the DOJ opinion that in cases of particular importance and extraordinary cases, the Philippine government may refuse a US request for custody.

As for media coverage, they have the right under international human rights law to know and be informed about the proceedings through the media, including what is happening inside the courtroom, they added.

They cited the fact that Laude’s mother Julita and other members of the family reside in a far-flung area in Leyte, making her unable to attend all the proceedings, aside from financial constraints, thus she and the rest of the family depend on the media for news on the case.