Pemberton tests negative for COVID-19 -BuCor

Pardoned homicide convict US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton has tested negative for COVID-19, the Bureau of Corrections said Saturday.

A Super Radyo dzBB report said the BuCor posted the result of Pemberton's real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test  processed by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

"SARS-CoV-2 (causative agent of COVID-19) viral RNA not detected," read Pemberton's test result.

TINGNAN: Nag negatibo sa COVID-19 si US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton. Ito'y batay sa resulta ng kanyang RT-PCR na galing sa RITM. | via @jhomer_apresto

????: BuCor pic.twitter.com/1nofmiIFnS

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) September 12, 2020

The US serviceman took the swab test on September 9 at 10:15 a.m. The results came out three days later, on Saturday. 

On Friday, Pemberton’s custody was transferred to the BI from the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), although he remained at his detention facility inside Camp Aguinaldo.

The BI said it will complete deportation proceedings against Pemberton after he is released from the BuCor custody.

In 2015, Pemberton was convicted of homicide for killing Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude in October 2014.

Pemberton was ordered deported for being an "undesirable alien" three months before his conviction in 2015.

Pemberton was sentenced to 6 to 12 years imprisonment and ordered to pay the Laude family at least P4.5 million for various damages.

Five years into serving his sentence, he was granted absolute pardon by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte said Pemberton was treated unfairly when his behavior while detained and in prison was not duly monitored by Philippine authorities for good conduct time credits. -MDM, GMA News