A US Marine suspected in the killing of a transgender Philippine national was yesterday transferred from his warship to the Philippine military’s main camp, where he will continue to be guarded by fellow US Marines, in a compromise that eased a looming irritant over his custody.
The case involving Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton and Jennifer Laude, whose former name was Jeffrey, came about as the Philippines and the US began implementing a new accord that allows greater US access to Philippine military camps. Washington wants to reassert its presence in the region, and Manila to deter China’s territorial claims.
Left-wing activists and Philippine nationalists have cited the custody provision of the accord — which says US military suspects must remain in US custody until legal processes are over — as proof that the accord undermines the sovereignty of the Philippines, which was a US colony until 1946.
Photo: EPA
Pemberton’s transfer by helicopter to Manila was agreed by the US and the Philippines, Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang told a news conference in Manila.
The 19-year-old Marine, who arrived in handcuffs, will be detained in an air-conditioned container van with grilled windows, directly guarded by US Marines, while Philippine military police will be posted outside the fenced compound, Catapang said.
“They agreed to put him in a facility which will pass US custodial standards,” Philippine Secretary of Defense Voltaire Gazmin said. “We’re happy with this because he’s a suspect in a crime that was committed in our country.”
Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario, who has described Laude’s death as tragic, said that the arrangement showed “mechanisms are in place so that justice can be served,” adding there was strong cooperation between the treaty allies.
While the suspect has been moved to a Philippine camp, he remains in US custody, the US Marine Corps said, citing the Visiting Forces Agreement, which stipulates treatment of US military personnel suspected of breaking law.
The US Marine Corps takes allegations of illegal acts by its forces seriously, US Marine Corps Pacific spokesman Colonel Brad Bartelt said, but added: “It is important to remember that anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday said that Washington seeks no special privilege for the suspect, but only protection of his rights.
Philippine and US authorities engaged in a high-profile custody battle over another US Marine, Daniel Smith, who was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison on charges of raping a Philippine woman in 2005, also at the Subic freeport.
Smith was held at the US embassy in Manila until a Philippine appeals court overturned his conviction in 2009, allowing him to leave the country amid anti-US protests.
In the latest case, Philippine police and witnesses said Pemberton and Laude, 26, met at a night club in Olongapo City on Oct. 11, then went to a motel room, where Laude’s body was later found in the bathroom.
She had apparently been drowned in the toilet bowl, Police Chief Inspector Gil Domingo said.
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