DOJ affirms murder case vs. Pemberton

(Updated 5:36 p.m.) The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday affirmed anew the filing of a murder case against US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton over the death of Filipino transgender woman Jeffrey "Jennifer" Laude in Olongapo City last year.

In a resolution penned by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima herself, the DOJ denied a motion for reconsideration filed by Pemberton's camp seeking to reverse her January 27 ruling denying the US serviceman's petition for review and affirming the murder charge.

Pemberton is currently detained at a US facility inside Camp Aguinaldo.

The denial of the MR came just three days before Pemberton's scheduled arraignment at the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court Branch 74 on Monday.

Pemberton filed a petition for review last December seeking to have the murder charge dismissed, but the DOJ denied it last January 27.

In its motion for reconsideration, the camp of Pemberton sought the reversal of the DOJ resolution finding probable cause to charge him with murder.

The US serviceman's camp claimed they were never given an opportunity to examine the purported evidence against him, "much less be given the right to question their credibility, authenticity, and veracity when the case was already submitted for resolution during the preliminary investigation held on 28 November 2014."

Pemberton's camp said the pieces of evidence are inadmissible since they were all presented to the Office of the City Prosecutor of Olongapo after the US soldier has already been declared to have waived his right to file a counter-affidavit.

Pemberton's camp said the OCP-Olongapo should not have allowed evidence to be submitted beyond November 28, 2014.

But in her resolution, De Lima said, "[T]here is nothing in the records that shows that the OCP of Olongapo City has declared him to have waived his right to file his counter-affidavit on 27 October 2014."

De Lima added there was nothing that prevented Pemberton from filing a counter-affidavit or submitting evidence to controvert the evidence against him after October 27, 2014.

"It was evident that the case was not yet submitted for resolution by then... Assuming the OCP-Olongapo City declared he was deemed to have waived his right to file a counter-affidavit, that does not mean that the case is already submitted for resolution," said De Lima.

She added: "Our assessment of the records of this case shows that even in the absence of the purported 'additional evidence,' a finding of probable cause for murder can be maintained against respondent (Pemberton)."

De Lima said Pemberton's camp seemed "really not minded" to file a counter-affidavit.

"A preliminary investigation is not a convivial party that respondent can attend or leave intermittently at his own convenience or as he opts to at his pleasure without any consequence whatsoever," said De Lima.

The Pemberton camp had likewise said after dimissing the murder case, the DOJ should instead downgrade the recommended charges to homicide.

But in her resolution, De Lima denied the plea and stood by the findings of the Olongapo City OCP on the qualifying circumstances for murder, which are treachery, abuse of superior strength, and cruelty. —KBK, GMA News