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Malacañang lashed out on Thursday against a decision by a court in the city of Olongapo ordering the release of the United States Navy Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton, saying it was a “judicial overreach.”
Pemberton, who was convicted in 2015 of killing a Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude, was released after serving less than six years of her 10-year sentence.
Section 74 of the Olongapo City Regional Court of First Instance approved on September 1 the American’s application for a good conduct time allowance (GCTA), which allowed him to be released before serving his sentence.
In a briefing on Thursday, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said Pemberton must remain in detention as the court decision on his release “is not yet final or enforceable.”
Roque said the government intends to present a motion for reconsideration challenging the decision, insisting that it was a “judicial overreach instance.”
“For those with Pemberton, leave or give the executive branch the opportunity to request reconsideration because the decision on the good conduct award is an executive function. The judge’s decision based on an acknowledgment of the good conduct credits that the convicted prisoner supposedly obtained is an instance of judicial overreach, ”said Roque.
Pemberton is being held in a special facility at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Custody and Detention Center (AFP) at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
Roque said that the Secretary of Justice, Menardo Guevarra, mentioned to him the government’s plans to appeal the judicial decision.
He said the decision also went against the recommendation of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) on allowing time for good conduct.
“Under the law that allows good behavior, there must be a recommendation from the Corrections Office,” Roque said.
Pemberton served only five years and eight months of his 10-year tenure.
Roque said he has not discussed Pemberton’s decision with President Rodrigo Duterte, but linked it to Duterte’s order to scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States.
The VFA sets the rules for the conduct of US troops while on Philippine territory.
“If you remember, he has ordered the repeal of the VFA because it is not in accordance with our national interest,” said Roque.
Not yet
Pemberton may need to be detained a little longer, according to Attorney General Mark Perete.
Perete said Thursday that the BuCor would hold off releasing Pemberton until a motion for reconsideration, or MR, is resolved.
“The MR would have to be resolved first. BuCor cannot avoid legal action on MR by prematurely releasing Pemberton, ”Perete, who is also the Justice Department spokesman, said in a Viber message to journalists.
The Laude family has filed such a motion in the Olongapo court.
Major General Edgard Arévalo, an AFP spokesman, said he could not release Pemberton for the time being, citing an agreement between the army and BuCor.
“The agreement specifies that BuCor exercises operational control and supervision in relation to the conviction service of the inmate,” Arevalo said Thursday.
In her MR, Marilou Laude-Mahait, the transgender’s sister, said that Pemberton showed no evidence of good conduct during her detention.
“There is no evidence of Pemberton’s behavior, conduct and participation in any activity certified by the time allocation supervisor,” Laude-Mahait said.
Laude was found dead at the Celzone Lodge in Olongapo on October 11, 2014, where she and Pemberton had stayed.
According to court records, the two had a violent argument after Pemberton discovered that Laude was transgender.
Pemberton left the room and Laude’s body was later discovered.
Laude-Mahait said that everything Pemberton presented was a “selfish calculation” without any material basis and that the court should not give credit.
Another look
The Pemberton case has brought the controversial GCTA back to the limelight, and some lawmakers believe it’s time to take a second look.
Senate President Vicente Sotto 3 raised the possibility of another Senate hearing on the GCTA, which he last analyzed when high-profile convicts, including drug lords, were found to be among dozens of inmates. they were about to be released on the basis of the good conduct law.
“It’s a good thing that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee didn’t finish the GCTA hearing, if you remember,” Sotto said in a television interview Thursday.
He noted that Senator Richard Gordon, the chairman of the blue ribbon, simply suspended the hearing.
Senator Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros believes that Pemberton’s team “saw the pandemic as an opportunity to plan for his release,” as they filed a motion to recount in June under the GCTA Act and then filed a motion for his release in August. .
“The speed with which our institutions have acted in the case of a white American is a privilege never granted to many Filipinos. What message does this send to our citizens who have routinely suffered because of our own justice system? Hontiveros said.
He said Pemberton’s release “would be a loss in the LGBTQI + community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex plus) fight for equality and justice.”
“Many LGBTQI + groups believe that six years is not enough, especially considering the gruesome murder committed against Jennifer [Laude],” she said.
Senator Panfilo Lacson said he was not happy with Pemberton’s imminent release “because the victim was Filipino and a foreigner was convicted. [for killing him]. “
But Lacson has spoken out on the issue, saying he doesn’t know the intricacies of the decision to release Pemberton. “Aside from what they say a calculation was made under the GCTA, of course it has grounds that were not discussed publicly or openly,” he said.
Members of the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives condemned the decision to release Pemberton.
Party list representative Gabriela, Arlene Brosas, sees it as “a mockery of Philippine law.”
“It cannot be denied that this injustice is just another image of the vulnerability of people, especially women, who became victims of different forms of violence at the hands of foreign troops under the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Visiting Forces Agreement. Enhanced Defense Cooperation, ”Brosas said.
“Due to these unilateral agreements, the government lost its power to bring justice to Jennifer Laude and her family. We challenge President Duterte: If you really are serious about rescission of the VFA, do it now. VFA has clearly failed to improve the country’s capabilities to defend national security and sovereignty. Its completion is long overdue, ”she said.
Bayan Muna’s representative, Ferdinand Gaite, asked the court to review his decision to release Pemberton.
Gaite denounced the “special treatment” given to Pemberton, saying: “He never spent a single day in a Philippine prison.”
“We further reiterate our long-standing call for the immediate repeal of the Visiting Forces Agreement. This agreement not only resulted in the murder of Jennifer Laude, but also made possible the special treatment of an American criminal, ”Gaite said.
WITH PATRICK ROXAS, DEMPSEY REYES, WILLIAM DEPASUPIL, BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO AND DIVINA NOVA JOY DELA CRUZ
