The suspected killer of transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton of the US Marine Corps 2nd Battalion 9th Marines, is in the custody of the United States.
A statement by the U.S. Embassy in Manila said Pemberton “ is being held onboard USS Peleliu while a joint Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Philippine National Police investigation is conducted. The United States will continue to fully cooperate with Philippine law enforcement authorities in every aspect of the investigation.”
USS Peleliu, which is in Subic Bay for PHIBLEX 15, a joint amphibious landing exercise, was due to leave Tuesday but its departure was put on hold because of this crime involving one of the American soldiers.
In a press briefing, Foreign Affairs Spokesman Charles Jose justified U.S custody of Pemberton by quoting Article V, Section 6 of the 1998 PH-US Visiting Forces Agreement which states 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.”
Does it mean that the U.S. made the request for custody of Pemberton and the Philippines granted it? Who of the Philippine officials granted the request of the Americans?
Jose didn’t give that information.
He even said that the DFA will request the United States to waive custody of Pemberton but “there is no guarantee that the US will grant this request.”
Armed Forces Chief Gregorio Catapang is of the same mind as foreign affairs officials.”Under the Visiting Forces Agreement, the custody of the erring soldier stays with the Americans,” Catapang said after a meeting with the U.S. Pacific commander, Admiral Samuel Locklear.
Justice Undersecretary Jose Justiniano has a different interpretation of the VFA provision.
He said “The law stated that the US government has to take a request, so, the implication is that we do have the primary custody.”
Justiniano should know. He was the counsel for Lance Corporal Keith Silkwood – one of the four accused of in the 2005 rape case of a Filipina in Olongapo.( Silkwood and his two other co-accused were acquitted. Only Lance Corporal Daniel Smith was convicted.)
So we are back to the question who waived the primary right of the Philippines for custody over Pemberton?
Lawyer Harry Roque, chairperson of Center for International Law and teaches constitutional law and international law at the University of the Philippines College of Law, underscored the non-service related offense of Pemberton which makes custody by Philippine authorities over him compelling.
It must be stressed here the difference between custody and jurisdiction.
There is no question about Philippine jurisdiction over U.S. personnel with respect to offenses committed within the Philippines and punishable under the law of the Philippines.
It’s the issue of custody that is problematic even during the VFA negotiations because of the inhuman conditions of Philippine detention centers.
In the case of Daniel Smith, he was detained at the U.S. Embassy, which is considered a U.S. territory.
Centerlaw’s Romel Bagares said “A resolution dated January 28, 2014 in a case we filed to compel the DFA to renegotiate with US authorities on an ‘agreed facility’ for the detention of US servicemen being tried or convicted for a crime on Philippine soil, the Supreme Court took note of the fact that the Philippines has suggested to their American counterparts the AFP Custodial Center as one such ‘facility.’
The DFA and the AFP chief’s subservient stance on U.S. custody over Pemberton denigrates Philippine sovereignty – the supreme right of the state to command obedience within its territory.
With a diminished sovereignty, what does that make of the Philippines?
according sa news nagalit si Pemberton at nadismaya when he discover na hindi pala tunay na BABAE. maybe itong si Pemberton ay walang exprience sa babae dahil bata pa. sa picture at TV news ay kita mo agad na hindi talaga BABAE.
kaya itong si VICE GANDA ay ayaw mag perform/concert sa SAUDI ARABIA dahil alam niya na siya ay ikukulong.
ito yata ang dahilan kung bakit inalis ang death penalty dahil kay Daniel Smith. kapag na guilty hindi death. at ang panakot/black mail ay ibabalik si Jocjoc. I maybe wrong.
Kung convicted sa preso natin ikukulong. Hindi pa naman convicted kaya pwede na rin ma-detain sa custody ni Kano. Kung si GMA, Palparan, at mga senador ay pwedeng i-detain sa ospital dahil may sakit o matanda na o sa campo militar kasi namimiligro sila kung sa ordinaryong kulungan sila ilalagay, pwede na rin siguro si Kano sa US detention hanggang sa maconvict kasi tiyak mamimiligro din naman siya. Kinikilala naman ni Kano ang jurisdiction natin. Kaya nga ang trial ay sa ating korte at sa ating kulungan din ang bagsak kung ma-convict ang suspect. Magiging problema pa natin ang siguridad nung preso kung sa ating kulungan siya ilalagay. Imagine kung mabugbog o mapatay o ma-rape yun sa ating kulungan…Huwag na natin i-conflate ito sa ibang isyu tulad ng sovereignty kasi pagkinilala ang jurisdiction ng iyong korte kinikilala din nila ang iyong sovereignty.
The Question of Custody will be sort out if there is a Warrant of arrest issued or Charges been laid against the US Marine…Right now the Marine is being held under the protective custody pending charges or warrant of his arrest…He is a person of Interest in the Murder of Jennifer Laude and the US can not just let him go outside the Country…where he can escape Justice…
The VFA is a contract. A contract is an agreed exchange of interests. It is never balanced. The simplest is an exchange of goods for money; usually it is not an exchange of money for money. That is, it is not the same for both parties.
In the VFA, the Philippines concedes the right to the US to hold its own people pending trial. It is one of the “gets” for the US, and the US “gives” training and slots at its military academies to the Philippines, and assistance during storms. If there is a culprit, it is Filipinos who agreed to the terms, not the United States.
Why does the US resist allowing its people to be held in the Philippines? Might the emotional reactions of Filipinos and the Filipino press be one reason? And the politicization of the courts be another?
Look within for the culprit, not at the US. If the guy murdered someone, he will not be allowed to “escape” justice (@vic #5).
The VFA is a contract. A contract is an agreed exchange of interests. It is never equal. The simplest is an exchange of goods for money; usually it is not an exchange of money for money. That is, it is not the same for both parties.
In the VFA, the Philippines concedes the right to the US to hold its own people pending trial. It is one of the “gets” for the US, and the US “gives” training and slots at its military academies to the Philippines, and assistance during storms. If there is a culprit, it is Filipinos who agreed to the terms, not the United States.
Why does the US resist allowing its people to be held in the Philippines? Might the emotional reactions of Filipinos and the Filipino press be one reason? And the politicization of the courts be another?
Look within for the culprit, not at the US. If the guy murdered someone, he will not be allowed to “escape” justice (@vic #5).
I would add, this is not a case of America vs the Philippines. It is a case of two people, of whatever race and nationality, getting it wrong.
The world is really getting crazier than ever.
Lalaking nagpapanggap na babae. Kahit na mayroon na siyang kuwan ng babae, lalaki pa rin siya. At kahit mukha na siyang babae hindi siya magkaka-anak dahil ang biological composition niya ay sa lalaki.
Minsan nang naituro sa akin ang “Officer and a Gentleman”.
Nalaman lang na hindi totoong babae ang nai kama niya, pinatay? Sana sinipa nya na lang at umalis. O di kaya e, sinundot niya sa mata at umalis na lang.
maybe, it was sex game o kaya, rough sex gone wrong. did pemberton also have bruises on his body because he liked being whipped, and when it was the pota’s turn to be on the receiving end, conked out?
pemberton should not have left the pota who might have been unconsious at the time. he should have asked immediately for medical help and stay with the pota until medical help arrive. pota might have been saved, revived. then his punishment would not be so severe. really, marines ought to be told what to do in emergencies, not bolt and hide like common criminal.
permberton’s defense will be, it was rought sex, but pota was alive when I left her. but then, she must have overdosed herself with drugs and ended up killing herself in the bathroom. toxicology and forensic examination will show if indeed pota had drugs in the system. wait and see.
“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.”
——————————
Article V, Section 6 as quoted states that the Custody of Any US personnel will Immediately RESIDE with the US Military Authorities if they so Request..and they Did and it does not in any way mentioned the Permission and or consent to grant the request in the agreement..But it did clearly stated that the custody will continue to Reside with the US Military until waived and or completion of the Proceedings including the Final APPEAL…
pemberton is still only a suspect. he has not been convicted as murderer. not yet. investigation is still pending. and if soco did a thorough job of elimination, they should have rounded up the 1st people on the scene and interview them separetly upang walang sabwatan: namely, the people at the motel where the incident occured.
did she had epileptic attack while in the bathroom?
what happened to her cellphone? did she make calls after the americano has left? if so, she was still alive then, but maybe weakened. and was she still breathing when people first get to her, but were busy sa panghahalungkat sa kagamitan niya going through her bag and other ari-arian, and forget to call ambulance hanggang sa tuluyan siyang namatay? baka nakita nilang transgender siya at hindi deserving ng tulong, kaya pinabayaang mamatay. let the americano take all the blame, be fall guy.
isa na namang kaso ng pagpapatunay na kahit kailan ANG pilipinas ay mananatiling parang pusang kumikiskis sa binti ng amerika o asong dumidiladila sa kamay ng kanyang amo kapag gustong amutan ng kapirasong buto.
bakit hindi aminin na hindi kayang panindigan ng ating mga pinuno ang pagpapatupad ng sariling batas sa sariling bansa sapagkat nakikita nilang kapag ikinulong ang isang US national lalo’t sundalong katulad ni pemberton ay parang ikinulong din nila ang buong amerika?
Kita-kits na naman ba ang Sycip Salazar (defense) at si Evalyn Ursua (private prosecutor)?
There were two used condoms found. It will provide the DNA of the sexual partner of the victim. Can you match that with the DNA of Pemberton? Only if you can legally require him to yield a buccal (mouth – boca in Spanish) swab. We have little to no jurisprudence on this, so Maryland v. King, decided by the US Supreme Court will come into play.
Read the dissent of Justice Antonin Scalia. Yes. The ultra-conservative wrote the stinging dissent concurred in by Justice Bader-Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Kagan. Damn the guy can write.
By the way, are the condoms still in the possession of the police? Or did they conveniently vanish, like the animal bones pretending to be Bubby Dacer’s bones?
I would love to see the forensic report on the victim. it was reported the victim was strangled daw, if so, there should have been petechiae in the victim’s eyes. burst blood capillaries in the eyes are 1st sign of strangulation. as well, the hyoid bone on the front of the neck should have been broken, snapped when pressure was applied.
apparently, the victim was found slumped over the toilet. possibilities ought to be considered if the victim has history of fainting, drug use, or had an accident, slipped and fell on the toilet, the head hitting the toilet bowl, the neck inadvertently snapped in the process.
if strangulation was toilet induced, bruising should only at the front of the neck, the part that hit the toilet bowl, no apparent bruising at the sides and back of the neck.
saxnviolins at 15, please note that if pemberton’s dna is found at the crime scene, it will only confirm that he was there present, not necissarily the killer.
hate crime daw, sabi ng marami. transgender ang biktima at brutal ang pagkamatay. but what if pemberton is not biased towards transgender dahil bisexual siya? babae man o lalaki ay okay sa kanya. gays and lesbians and bisexuals now work in the military in america, plenty of them around.
it did not appear hate crime to me, or particularly brutal. hindi sinabi ng newspapers na when found, sabog ang mukha ng biktima. no mention kung nag-sustain ng sangkatutak na cigarette o lighter burns ang buong katawan, walang ebidensya na ginulpi. walang stab wounds at hindi paulit-ulit na sinaksak. I’m starting to think the victim had a bad accident at nadulas sa bathroom.
I’ll wait for official report, see what they’ll say.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/71937-olongapo-slay-us-marine
Nabisto pero itinuloy pa rin ni Pemberton kasi may condoms.
Agreed sa obserbasyon ng iba, baka wala na ang condoms. Wala na forever at aksidente lang ang nangyari. Ayyayay!
# 17
There were only two people in the room – the victim and the sex partner. The murder happened in the room. So the companion is the murderer.
To introduce reasonable doubt, the defense has to prove that another person was in the room. That doubt will be belied by the motel clerk.
This is close to, but not exactly the kind of circumstantial evidence that is considered of the “smoking gun” type. The etymology of the expression, by the way, comes from “The Adventure of Gloria Scott”, a tale in the Sherlock Holmes series.
quoting William Safire in his column, “On Language,”
askville.amazon.com/familiar-expression-smoking-gun-origin/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=11150034
Add “h t t p : / /” in front, no spaces.
Mabuti nang ibigay ang source, ayaw kong maging Mariano Del Castillo.
In this case, there will be no “smoking gun” because the victim was strangled. He could only have been strangled by one also in the room, because you cannot do a remote strangulation. There can be a long distance love affair, a long distance sexual encounter (ask New York ex Congressman Anthony Wiener), but there is no long distance strangulation.
So the smoking gun here is any evidence to prove presence in the room with the victim.
What did you say? Nadulas sa banyo? Kaya nalunod sa inodoro at namatay?
gmanetwork.com/news/story/383832/news/nation/transgender-jeffrey-laude-badly-bruised-wounded-drowned
Three w’s in front.
Life may be stranger than fiction, but this defies the laws of physics. When you fall down and your head lands in the toilet bowl, the weight of your body will pull your head out of the bowl, or at least above the water level of the toilet bowl. So drowning in the toilet bowl was caused by someone forcing the head in the toilet bowl.
So who has custody of the smoking condoms?
SnV, re #15, Atty. Harry Roque is the lawyer of the Laude family. I understand Atty. Ursua will also be working with him.
Atty Harry Roque is the lawyer but this a Criminal case and the prosecution of the accused will be the responsibilities of the State Prosecutor and Atty Rogue is not a State prosecutor..He maybe preparing for the “civil” case against the accused…
Ang visiting force agreement ng USA sa ibang bansa kapag nagkasala ang amerikano ay nasa custody ng kung anong bansa. Pero dito sa Pilipinas nakapagtataka na pumayag ang bansa sa VFA na kapag nagkasala ang amerikano ay sa custody ng amerika ang pangangalaga. Unfair para sa mga Pilipino ang ganun na kasunduan. Bakit pumayag sa ganun na kasunduan.
# 23
Private prosecutors are allowed in the Philippines, unlike your beloved Canada.
Sa VFA ay mahilig talaga minsan mang uto ang amerika. Itong bansa naman ni Jose Rizal, Lapu lapu, dahil maraming uto uto ayun pumayag sa agreement na kapag nagkasala ang amerikano sa bansang Pilipinas ay dapat nasa custody ng USA ang akusado.
Basta sa panahon ni Marcos pagkaalam ko ay nirerespeto ng mga dayuhan ang mga Pilipino. Takot gumawa ng masama ang mga dayuhan dahil alam nila na may parusang naghihintay sa kanila. Mula ng mapatalsik si Marcos marami na rin dayuhan ang inabuso ang isang pilipino. Magdedemanda pero pagtagal ay iurong ang kaso. Bakit iniurong, isang dahilan siguro ay dahil binayaran ng akusado para di na ituloy ang demanda. Kaya hindi nakapagtataka na may mga dayuhan na kidnap ng mga rebelde para ganti na rin sa mga pilipino na inabuso ng ibang mga dayuhan.
# 25 and that could mean that the victim and the victim’s families have to pay for the Lawyers?
A private prosecutor is allowed to appear, under the direct supervision and control of the government prosecutor.
Harry Roque most probably is doing this pro bono. Not everybody is after a quick buck.
The family is poor, and their main breadwinner is already dead. It will add insult to injury if any lawyer will charge fees to seek justice.
Pe-gul sa higher ups yang Pemberton na yan.
Supreme Court sets oral arguments in the EDCA case.
tribune.net.ph/headlines/sc-calls-for-orals-on-legality-of-edca
Wrong timing ka naman hijo. Ngayon ka pa nagkalat. The justices may say whatever they want; about deciding only the legal issues, etc. But they are only human. Recent news items will be in the subconscious. How that plays out in the EDCA case, only Sigmund Freud will know. Oops, God and Sigmund Freud.
You just made Florin Hilbay’s job more difficult dumb-ass.
if the victim was drowned, in the autopsy the lungs should be like sponge full of water. kapag piniga mo, water will ooze out. forensic pathologist usually measure the amount of water recovered from the lungs. but if only few ounces of water were recovered, it may not be enough to cause drowning.
and if the victim’s head was forced down into the toilet, there should be some sort of bruising on the back of the head, the pressure points correspond the handwidth of the killer. but if the victim was held by the hair, the head shoved in the toilet, there should be clumps of hair pulled out of their roots.
it’s possible that during the fall, the impact was great at nabali ang neck ng victim at hindi na-itaas ang ulo. the victim panicked and in an effort to breath and gulped air, the victim gulped in water instead.
if the victim had taken hormones to enhace his being female, the dose not being adjusted and monitored regularly by doctors as the victim was not well off and treatment was expensive, the victim might have been self-medicating. possible side effects of unmonitored hormone treatment is brittle bones. bones prone to breaking, madaling mabali.
vic, palagay koy lebre muna ang serbisyo ni roque ngayon. walang deposit o down payment, maaga pa kasi. later, if roque wins the case, and since USA is a rich country, the compensation the victim’s family would have received will be in their millions. then, roque will have a cut of say, 20 per cent from the total amount. I think, the victim’s family and roque have already talked this through. so, no nasty surprises later, the family not walking into a trap.
roc # 32 of course nothing is ” free” somehow there is something in return.. But my point is what happen if there is no prospect of civil judgement and or settlement what if the Other victims can not afford the Services of Private Prosecutors , they will be just left at the Mercy of lowly paid State Prosecutors? To Throw away their cases? Lately it was reported that rate of Conviction in the Phl is Less than 20 %… Victims were Victimized by their own Justice.
I for one dont under-estimate our state prosecutors. they’re qualified and have government resources to back them up, state coroners, nbi, etc. if state prosecutors put their minds on the job, god knows what they can do.
with the whole nation’s attention as well as international media, I dont think state prosecutors will just ‘throw away the case’. it’s going to be hard slog for all concern.
let’s watch and see. defense will most likely bring in experts who’ll try to discredit witnesses. as we all know, there are holes in the witnesses story. motel reception said no one entered the room after the suspect left. reception must have been busy that night with cashed up foreigners asking for rooms. and with reception being at the entrance, reception could not have known, or seen, if guests already checked in went to visit the occupants next room, and likewise the room across the hall. they’re not within sight of reception, unless there’s cctv.
and if defence ‘summon’ the cellphone of the victim, there are lot of juicy bits there. maybe texts of victim texting current boyfriend, not the german, but the pinoy, of tally of customers and ‘short-times’ the victim had that night, how in demand victim was specially among good looking foreigners. pina-selos ang boyfriend. here’s hoping boyfriend was not jealous type, not hanging around the club and went to the motel to sort out and get even with victim.
then, there’s the theoritical fall the victim might have had. bedsheet wrapped around the lower body, the victim admiring self in the bathroom mirror (most transgenders cannot resist mirrors and loved admiring themselves, thinking of ways and means to make themselves more beautiful), preening and turning this and that ony to trip on the bedsheet, slipped, and fell.
the bruise said to be on the back of the victim’s head, if the pressure points dont match the pressure points on the suspect’s hand, that’s bad. and if the bruise proved to be old bruise and not new, bad again. state coroners should know.
and as roque had said, they have a strong case. let justice prevail. money is the least of our worries.
#30. korek, SnV.
sax, what puzzles me is that Pemberton was charged with murder not manslaughter. Diba amoy perder na naman itong karerang ito? (perder=intentionally losing) paki eksplika nga, bro.
You are thinking that if the prosecution cannot prove the elements of murder, that he will walk as well with the lesser offense? I does not work that way. Even if the charge is murder, and the evidence only proves the lesser offense, the accused can be convicted of the lesser offense.
quoting the Section 5, Rule 120 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.
lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2004/feb2004/gr_149430_2004.html
What I’m thinking is that if the judge dismisses it for lack of evidence, or any of the requisites of murder, diba libre na si Kano?
No. If the evidence is not enough for murder, but sufficient for homicide (manslaughter sa Tate), he will be convicted for the lower offense.
Article 246 refers to parricide, when you kill your parent or child.
Pareho ang elements ng murder at homicide. May pinaslang. The only additional element of murder is any of those enumerated.
The prosecution will argue Item 6, either cruelty or scoffing at the person. Sa inodoro nilublob. Puwede ka namang sumakal nang hindi kasama ang pambababoy.
Thanks, SnV.
Thanks for the details, bottom line question – can the judge dismiss it for lack of merit? Evident premeditation is hard to prove as far as the news details go. Pasensya na, Obligations and Contracts lang ang covered ng inaral ko.
The Judge cannot dismiss, because there are sufficient grounds for homicide (manslaughter). There is merit, but for a lesser offense.
Problem is, if you read the VFA thoroughly, one can argue we have no jurisdiction. In fact, that argument could have been advanced as well, in the case of Daniel Smith.
That is not altogether bad, because the US authorities are generally fair, and Pemberton will be punished. In fact, Daniel Smith might have been punished were he prosecuted before US authorities. Kaso, ginapang sa Philippine Court of Appeals.
Of course, there is the issue of sovereignty et al, pet concerns of the nationalists. But I blame the negotiators of the VFA, not the judicial system.
I will not, however, post my analysis that makes me opine that we have no jurisdiction. Let the defense counsel earn their attorney’s fees.