Robredo questions Duterte's pardon of Pemberton: Patas at makatarungan ba ito?

President Rodrigo Duterte's granting of absolute pardon to US Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, convicted for the 2014 killing of Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude, is unfair and unjust, Vice President Leni Robredo said Tuesday.

Duterte's pardon came as the Laude family was preparing to appeal an Olongapo City court ruling ordering Pemberton's release on account of good conduct time allowance, even if he has not been detained in a Philippine jail facility despite his conviction.

"Isa lang ang kasong ito sa maraming patunay ng pagkiling sa makapangyarihan na nakikita natin mula sa pamahalaan. Napakaraming mga Pilipino na mas magaan ang sala, ngunit hindi nabibigyang-pansin o nabibigyan ng ganitong uri ng pribilehiyo,” Robredo, a lawyer, said in a statement.

"Ang nakikita natin: Kapag mahirap, may parusa; kapag mayaman at nasa poder, malaya. We continue to hope that the President exercises his vast powers in a manner that is fair and that benefits the common Filipino.”

In granting the pardon, Duterte said Pemberton was treated unfairly because it was not his fault that Philippine authorities did not record his good conduct.

"'Pag walang record, 'di mo malaman kung nabilang ba o hindi. Pagka ganon hindi kasalanan ni Pemberton. He is not required to keep a record of his own and characterize his behavior while inside the prison," Duterte had said.

Under the GCTA law, inmates must attend various activities/programs inside the jail facility to become productive while serving sentence, including Alternative Learning System (ALS), religious activities, to benefit from it.

Pemberton, however, was never jailed alongside other inmates and was alone in his detention center inside the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, for his part, said Duterte consulted him before granting the pardon. "Yes, I was consulted by the President before he made the decision," he told reporters on Monday.

"Pardon is an act of grace on the part of the chief executive. He may exercise this plenary power of executive clemency at any time and under any circumstance," Guevarra said.

GMA News Online has already reached out to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque for Malacañang's comment on Robredo's statement, but he has yet to respond as of posting time.

The pardon, as expected, did not sit well with Laude's family. Interviewed on Unang Balita, the family's lawyer, Virgie Suarez, said it was Jennifer Laude, the victim, who was treated unfairly and not Pemberton.

"Para sabihin niya na si Pemberton ay unfairly treated, walang basehan. If there's anyone who is unfairly treated dito ay si Jennifer Laude, ang pamilya ni Laude, at buong mamayang Filipino," Suarez said.

In her statement, Robredo questioned the fairness of the President's decision to grant pardon to Pemberton.

"Ang tanong nga natin: Patas at makatarungan ba ang naging desisyong ito? Libo-libo ang nakakulong pa rin dahil walang pambayad sa abugado. Hindi malitis-litis ang kanilang mga kaso. May mga pamilya silang nagugutom, nagkakasakit, at naghihirap. Pemberton had lawyers, special detention facilities, a quick, public trial, and an appeal. Ngayon, lalong luminaw na mayroon din siyang resources para masigurong mabibigyang-pansin ng mismong Pangulo ang kaso niya," she said.

An absolute pardon extinguishes any criminal liability on the convict.

An Olongapo court convicted Pemberton of homicide for killing Laude in December 2015, sentencing him to six to 10 years in prison. Laude was found dead with her head inside a toilet bowl inside an Olongapo City lodge in October 2014.

Pemberton’s conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals (CA) in April 2017.

In affirming Pemberton’s conviction, the CA said, “Pemberton unabashedly plunged Laude’s head in the toilet for the puerile reason that Laude pretended to be a woman. To our mind, placing Laude’s head inside a toilet shows that Pemberton never thought of Laude as a human being, but as fecal matter due to his sexual orientation.” —KBK, GMA News