DOJ chief won't speculate on Duterte motive for Pemberton pardon: 'Let's move on'

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Friday said he cannot speculate on President Rodrigo Duterte's motives for granting absolute pardon to convicted US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton.

"I cannot speculate on the President’s motives. He has explained his reason for granting pardon to Mr. Pemberton. For me that’s the end of the story. Let’s move on," Guevarra said.

He made the statement when asked for comment on presidential spokesperson Harry Roque's linking of the pardon to Duterte's desire for the Philippines to gain access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Guevarra earlier said Duterte must have had basis for extinguishing the criminal liability of Pemberton, who was convicted of homicide for killing Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude in 2014.

Guevarra was with Duterte when the chief executive made the decision that would reportedly surprise even US Ambassador Sung Kim.

According to Guevarra, only he, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr., Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, and Senator Bong Go were with the President in that meeting.

Duterte pardoned Pemberton on the same day that prosecutors, who are under the Department of Justice, contested a court order for his early release.

Duterte later said that Pemberton was not treated fairly.

Asked whether he thinks the pardon was fair for the Laude family, Guevarra said he considers the matter "closed."

"My sentiments are irrelevant. I defer to the personal judgment of the president on matters within his constitutional prerogative," he said in a message to reporters.

Pemberton remains detained at Camp Aguinaldo even after he was released from the custody of the Bureau of Corrections. The Bureau of Immigration is now completing deportation proceedings against him.

Once the requirements for deportation are completed and his flight out of the country is arranged, Pemberton will walk free.—AOL, GMA News