DOJ chief expects Pemberton release, deportation done by weekend

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Thursday said he expects the release and deportation of convicted US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton to be completed this weekend.

But the date of Pemberton's actual departure from the country depends on his flight arrangements, considering that he is a member of the US military, Guevarra said.

The Bureau of Corrections earlier said it has started processing Pemberton's release after officially receiving a copy of the absolute pardon granted to him by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Immigration authorities said they will complete deportation proceedings against the convicted serviceman after he is released.

"As soon as Mr. Pemberton is released from his detention cell, the Bureau of Immigration will take over custody of his person and proceed to deport him immediately," Guevarra said in a message to reporters.

"It is my expectation that by this weekend, the whole process will have been completed," he said.

Pemberton's lawyer, Rowena Flores, said her client's flight "will not be tomorrow."

Pemberton will be released by virtue of the absolute pardon given to him by Duterte just over five years into his service of a six-to-10-year prison sentence for killing Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude in 2014.

The absolute pardon extinguished Pemberton's criminal liability and rendered moot the emerging legal debate on whether he was entitled to early release for "good conduct."

Days before he was pardoned, a court in Olongapo ordered his release, saying he was considered to have served one month over his maximum penalty of 10 years because of good conduct time allowances (GCTA) on top of his actual time served.

Laude's family and public prosecutors were contesting the court order when Duterte granted the pardon.

Duterte said Pemberton was not duly monitored for GCTAs. He claimed that authorities did not treat the American fairly.

Meanwhile, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, a former lawyer of the Laude family, said he respects the President's decision to grant absolute pardon to Pemberton.

"I respect the wisdom of the President, which is grounded on a broader national interest," Roque said without elaborating.

Roque had earlier denounced the Olongapo City court's ruling ordering Pemberton's release. —KBK, GMA News