BuCor will carry out court order to release Pemberton —AFP

It is the Bureau of Corrections that will be complying with a court's order to allow the early release of Joseph Scott Pemberton, Armed Forcesspokesperson Major General Edgard Arevalo said Wednesday.

Pemberton, an American soldier who was convicted of homicide for the killing of Jennifer Laude in 2014, had been sentenced to six to 10 years' imprisonment.

On Wednesday, a court in Olongapo ordered his early release

In a statement, Arevalo said the AFP has also yet to receive a copy of the release order.

“Nonetheless, the compliance to that order of the court will have to be done by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), not the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he said.

Arevalo said Pemberton is being held in the AFP Custodial Facility by virtue of a memorandum of agreement between the AFP and BuCor.

He said the MOA states that the AFP will make its detention facility available, while the BuCor will retain the management and administration of the convicted detainees.

Moreover, Arevalo said, the AFP will assist the BuCor in facilitating Pemberton’s release.

In her order dated September 1, Judge Roline Ginez-Abalde said Pemberton is "entitled to be released for he had already served the 10-year maximum of his penalty."

The judge took into account the good conduct time allowances (GCTA) he had accumulated while detained.

The court said Pemberton had served a total of 2,142 days and earned 1,548 GCTAs. Taken together, this amounts to 3,690 days, or 10 years, one month, and 10 days—more than the 10-year maximum penalty imposed on him, the court said.

The court also said that Pemberton has already made a "full payment" of millions of pesos in damages to Laude's heirs.

Laude's family, meanwhile, has asked the trial court to reconsider the release order.

Laude, a 26-year-old transgender woman, was found dead in the bathroom of a Celzone Lodge room in Olongapo City on October 11, 2014.

Pemberton was convicted in 2015. His conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. — Ma. Angelica Garcia/BM, GMA News