OVER PEMBERTON'S CASE

Philippines, US to craft stricter rules for joint military exercises, says DND

The Philippines and the United States will be crafting stricter guidelines governing joint military exercises, Department of Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said on Sunday.

Andolong made the statement after the deportation of US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, who was convicted in 2015 for killing transgender Filipino woman Jennifer Laude in 2014, in a fit of rage inside a motel.

“We have engaged our American counterparts in frank discussions regarding future incidents involving visiting military personnel.” Andolong said.

“Both sides are now more circumspect and, as a result, stricter guidelines will be crafted and implemented in the conduct of joint exercises, if there will be any and if the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement remains suspended,” he added.

On February 11, the Philippines formally sought the abrogation of the VFA. But on June 1, the country suspended the termination "in light of political and other developments in the region."

The VFA allows American soldiers to regularly train with their Filipino counterparts in the country.

After years of incarceration, Pemberton was successfully deported from the Philippines on Sunday morning, the Bureau of Immigration said.

Pemberton was released by virtue of the absolute pardon given to him by President Rodrigo Duterte just over five years into his service of a six-to-10-year prison sentence.

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 the pardon, 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's 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. —LBG, GMA News