US Marine tagged as 'possible suspect' in slay of transgender in Olongapo

By ROUCHELLE DINGLASAN and ROSE-AN JESSICA DIOQUINO, GMA News

Published October 13, 2014 3:01pm

(UPDATED 4:26 p.m.) A US serviceman who took part in the recent joint military exercises has been tagged as a suspect in the killing of a transgender woman in Olongapo City over the weekend, the US embassy said in a statement Monday.

"The United States Embassy in Manila expresses its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jeffrey Laude, who was found dead in Olongapo City on October 11," the statement said.

"A US Marine has been identified as a possible suspect in the ongoing investigation," the US Embassy statement added. "The United States will continue to fully cooperate with Philippine law enforcement authorities in every aspect of the investigation."

A report on GMA News TV Live quoted Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Major General Domingo Tutaan as saying that the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has identified the suspect as an American who participated in the 2014 Amphibious Landing Exercises (PHIBLEX) in Zambales earlier this month.

The CIDG and the Visiting Forces Agreement Commission would investigate the killing, Tutaan said.

The victim was found dead inside the Celzone Lodge in Barangay East Tapinac on Saturday night, and was reported to be last seen with a foreign companion.

Barred from leaving

Eduardo Oban, Executive Director of the Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFACOM), said US Pacific Commander Samuel Locklear has barred American military vessels from leaving the Philippines until the investigation on the killing is over.

Both US and Philippine officials have not given out the name of the possible suspect.

"The suspect, according to CIDG statement, was part of the PHIBLEX," Tutaan said.

He said that military wasn't involved in the investigation, which is already being undertaken by the CIDG and the VFACOM.

"The investigation per se, we don't have a hand on this. We will coordinate with them… It is not that we are insulating ourselves from this," Tutaan said.

"We condemned what has happened," he added.

US-PHL meeting

Tutaan said the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board composed of high-ranking Filipino and military officials is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss "pertinent issues regarding the United States and the Philippines' military-to-military relations."

He said Laude's killing "may be discussed" during the talks.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines-Public Affairs Office, it said that the issues that will be discussed includes Mutual Defense, Maritime Security, Combating Terrorism, Philippine Defense Reform, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response, Civil-military Operations, Peacekeeping, Transnational Crimes, and Cyber Security.

Condemnation

In separate statements on Monday, several groups condemned the killing and called on the government to make the US serviceman accountable for the crime regardless of the administration's "eagerness" over the recently Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the US.

Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr. said the US government should turn over the American soldier to Philippine authorities and not use the VFA "to gain immunity or to allow the suspect to escape prosecution under Philippine laws."

Reyes added: "Aquino should not junk national interest just because he's eager to implement the EDCA."

The EDCA allows increased US military presence in the country, and gives the US access to selected Philippine military facilities.

The Youth group Anakbayan said the government should stop the US ship USS Peleliu, one of two US vessels that arrived in Subic for the PHIBLEX joint military exercises, from leaving the Philippines.

The youth group also called on a independent probe on the incident.

The League of Filipino Students said the killing was "only one of the many cases of injustices which happened under the military intervention of the US."

The group said the incident was reminiscent of the Subic rape case, which involved "Nicole," a Filipina who was allegedly raped by at least five US servicemen in 2005.

Daniel Smith

The last time an American participant in joint military exercises was charged for a crime in the Philippines was in 2005, when Lance Corporal Daniel Smith was accused of raping Suzette Nicolas in Subic, Zambales.

Smith was detained at the Makati City Jail until the Makati Regional Trial Court in December 2006 found him guilty and sentenced him to 40 years in prison for the crime. The US Embassy in Manila afterwards took custody of Smith.

The victim, however, executed a sworn statement in 2009 casting doubt on her accusation that Smith raped her.

The Court of Appeals on April 23, 2009 reversed the Makati court's decision and acquitted Smith. In less than 24 hours, Smith left the country.

According to then-US Embassy spokesperson Rebecca Thompson, the US Embassy observed the terms of the VFA while the case of Smith was being tried until he was acquitted by the CA. —KG/NB/YA, GMA News

Tags: andrea, transgender, olongapocity, jeffreylaude