Pemberton transfer from BuCor to BI will not be physical, lawyer says

The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) is set to turn over Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, the American soldier convicted of homicide for the killing of Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude in 2014, to the Bureau of Immigration which will execute his deportation.

But according to Pemberton's counsel, Rowena Flores, this does not mean the American soldier will be physically transferred to a BI facility.

"Yung sinasabi na dadalhin, hindi physical yun. Ang ibig lang sabihin ng BuCor, yung mga susunod na proseso, under the Bureau of Immigration na po, hindi na sa kanila," Flores told Dobol B sa News TV on Friday.

Flores did not say when the turnover will be.

At present, Pemberton is jailed at a JUSMAG facility inside Camp Aguinaldo, the Philippine military's main headquarters.

For Friday, Flores said Pemberton is set to have his fingerprints and photo taken by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for his clearance, which is a requirement for his deportation.

Aside from his NBI clearance, Pemberton was also waiting for the result of the COVID-19 swab test conducted on him by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), Flores said.

President Rodrigo Duterte granted absolute pardon to Pemberton, effectively extinguishing his criminal liability for killing Laude and rendered moot the emerging legal debate on whether he was entitled to early release for "good conduct."

BuCor spokesman Gabriel Chaclag earlier said they have started processing Pemberton's release.  —KBK, GMA News