Philippine president pardons U.S. Marine for killing transgender Filipina

GABRIELA FILE PHOTO

The murder of transgender Jennifer Laude became an international cause. Members of 
GABRIELA, a rights group, protested in front of the White House in 2015.

In an about-face, the Philippine government pardoned a U.S. Marine who was serving prison time for killing a transgender Filipina six years ago.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte granted "absolute pardon" to U.S. Marie Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, clearing the way for his early release from a Philippine prison, announced Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.

"Cutting matters short over what constitutes time served, and since where he was detained was not in the prisoner's control – and to do justice – the President has granted an absolute pardon to Pemberton," Locsin announced in a tweet on Monday, Sept. 7.

The announcement reverses the government position taken on Friday that overturned the scheduled early release. Then, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Pemberton would remain behind bars despite earning good conduct credits that shortened his 10-year sentence to jut six years.

Filipino nationalists and LGBTQ activists denounced the apparent reversal as an appeasement to the United States.

Renato Reyes Jr., of the nationalist group Bayan, said Pemberton's pardon was clearly a political accommodation to the U.S, which has been helping to countering China’s rising aggression in the region, reports the New York Times.

“The absolute pardon comes months after Duterte reversed the early pronouncement of the termination of the V.F.A.,” Reyes said, referring to the Visiting Forces Agreement. “The Philippine president has restored the V.F.A. to please the Americans.”

“The U.S. government had its way again on this issue,” he added. 

Pemberton had been sentenced to 10 years in prison last December 2015 for the killing of Jennifer Laude in a Olongapo City near Subic Bay, a military installation that used to belong to the U.S.

The Marine didn't know that Laude was a transgender Filipina. When he found out after checking into a motel, he became enraged and strangled Laude, according to witnesses.

The murder became an international incident because it affected U.S.-Philippine relations at a time when Duterte was warming the Philiippines' relations with China in order to secure an advantage in negotiations with the U.S. 

Last week, the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court granted an appeal from Pemberton and directed the Philippines Bureau of Corrections to release him.

Joseph Scott Pemberton, left, was convicted for killing Jennifer Laude, right.

The court's decision was based on Pemberton having earned his early release after he was granted full credits of Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) under a Philippine law.

The Laude family's lawyer, Romel Bagares, argued that the law didn't apply to someone under the VFA, as a member of a foreign military.

The intervention of Malacanang, the Philippines' White House, overturned the lower court's order last week and Pemberton, originally from Massachusetts, remained in jail over the weekend. No date has been announced for Pemberton's release.

UP Babaylan, a Philippines-based LGBTQ rights group, issued a statement to the international media co-signed by other rights groups that Duterte's decision sent a "loud and clear message that a Filipino trans woman's life does not matter."

Duterete's decision went viral on social media networks in the Philippines. In one of the most shared tweets, Philippine human rights activist Chel Diokno called the pardon an "affront to Jennifer Laude and her family" and a "big step backward for justice in this case and in our country."

EDITOR'S NOTE: A word of caution, this is news sprinkled with opinion. Readers are encouraged to seek multiple news sources to formulate their own positions. 

U.S. Marine, Killer of transgender Filipina, remains in prison; not eligible for early release

Joseph Pemberton, left, remains in prison for the murder of Jennifer Laude, right. 

An appeals court ruled that the U.S. Marine convicted in the 2014 killing of a transgender Filipina will remain in jail pending her family's appeal, according to the Manila newspaper Star Tribune.

The Regional Trial Court Branch 74′s ordered on Sept. 1 for the early release of Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton drew protests from the family and lawyers of Jennifer Laude, who was found dead in a motel room in Olongapo city in 2014.

“The light penalty imposed on Pemberton proves that despite the president’s independent foreign policy, Americans continue to have the status of conquering colonials in our country,” said government spokesman Harry Roque.

Pemberton was in the 6th year of his 10-year sentence. His lawyer said that the early release of her client was based on credits given for good behavior while behind bars.

But on Thursday (Sept. 3), Presidential spokesman Roque, who used to serve as one of the Laude family’s lawyers, said government officials cannot work on Pemberton’s release until the court has ruled on the appeal of the Laude family. Roque said the government is preparing a separate appeal of its own.

The Laude family's attorney said that Pemberton cannot invoke the equal protection clause because the (Philippine Supreme Court) ruled that there is a substantial difference between foreign military armed forces in the country and other people accused of crimes.

Pemberton was in the Philppines as part of the U.S. military contingent conducting joint military U.S.-Philippine exercises. He met Laude at a bar in Olongapo, a city known for its nightlife outside Subic Bay, a former U.S. Navy base.

Laude was later found dead, her head slumped in a toilet bowl in a motel room, where witnesses said she and Pemberton had checked in. According to a witness, Pemberton said he choked Laude after discovering she was transgender.

Laude's murder renewed calls for ending the U.S.-Philippine military agreements, which had been simmering among Filipinos for decades.

The murder of Jennifer Laude, with all of its political ramifications and questions about the LGBTQ community's status in the Philippines, was made into an award-winning documentary, Call Her Ganda, by PJ Raval

“Laude’s death personifies the death of Philippine sovereignty,” said Roque.

Transgender's homicide subject of documentary on 'POV'

SCREEN CAPTURE

The murder of Jennifer Laude became an international incident.

The story of slain Filipina transgender Jennifer Laude will air on American television this summer.


POV, America’s longest-running independent documentary TV series, is including Call Her Ganda, by Filipino American filmmaker PJ Raval, in its slate of award-winning shows this summer. "Ganda" is Tagalog for "beautiful."

Laude was slain in the Philippines in 2014 by a U.S. serviceman when he discovered that Laude was transgender. The service member, Marine Pvt. First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, is now serving his 10-year sentence in a Philippine prison. Laude's case became a cause celebre in the Philippines complicated by U.S.-Philippines military treaties.

Raval is an award‐winning filmmaker and cinematographer whose work explores the overlooked subcultures and identities within the already marginalized LGBTQ+ community. Named one of Out Magazine’s “Out 100” and Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.”

POV has won 34 Emmys and three Oscars since it premiered in 1988, showing documentaries that put a human face to, and intimately told stories dealing with, contemporary social issues.

Call Her Ganda airs July 1, 2019 on your local PBS station. Check local listings for times.

_____________________________________________________________________