No political exchange in Pemberton pardon –lawyer

There was no political exchange between the Philippines and the United States over the absolute pardon granted to the US Marine convicted for killing Jennifer Laude in 2014, the serviceman's lawyer said Monday.

"Malaking spekulasyon lang po 'yan na sinasabi nila, wala pong ganyang political exchange dahil as I said po ang kanyang sentensiya ay six to 10 years at ngayon [ay] nasa anim na taon na siya," Joseph Scott Pemberton's lawyer, Rowena Flores, said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

She made the statement when asked about remarks by lawyers for the Laude family who suggested the pardon may have had something to do with the suspension of the termination of the Philippines-US Visiting Forces Agreement, among others.

Flores said the pardon came as a surprise.

"Hindi ko po ine-expect 'yan kaya tuwang tuwa po ako nang malaman ko. Nagpapasalamat po ako nang wagas sa ating pangulo sa kanya pong pag-pardon kay Pemberton," the lawyer said.

"Wala pong senyales na mabibigyan siya ng pardon. Pero po malinaw kung ia-aaply natin ang batas na dapat na po lumaya siya kasi ang kanya pong sentensiya ay six years to 10 years," she added.

President Rodrigo Duterte pardoned Pemberton as public prosecutors were preparing to contest a court order for the convicted serviceman's early release.

An Olongapo court had ordered Pemberton's release just over five years into his six to 10-year sentence. The court said he had earned enough good conduct time allowances (GCTA) on top of his actual time served to be considered to have served the 10-year maximum penalty.

The Laude family had filed a motion for reconsideration, saying Pemberton was not entitled to GCTAs. They also said there was no proof of his supposed good behavior.

Flores countered that the corrections officers guarding Pemberton had attested to his good conduct.

She said her client has been given "special negative treatment."

An absolute pardon refers to the "total extinction of the criminal liability of the individual to whom it is granted without any condition." — DVM, GMA News