Pemberton barred from reentering Philippines, BI chief says

After the deportation of US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente on Sunday said he will be denied entry to the Philippines.

“Upon completion of the required documents, we immediately implemented the deportation. He was escorted by BI agents to ensure that he has boarded his aircraft,” Morente said in a statement.

“Should he attempt to re-enter the country after being deported, he will be denied entry and will be excluded,” he noted.

Morente made the statement following the successful deportation of Pemberton on Sunday morning.

He reminded that Pemberton, who was convicted in 2015 for killing transgender Filipino woman Jennifer Laude in 2014, was tagged as an undesirable alien after being blacklisted by the bureau in 2015.

According to him, the resolution stated that Pemberton’s continued presence in the Philippines is not conducive “for the safety, welfare, happiness, or good order of Philippine society.”

“His criminal case is separate from his immigration case. The Bureau saw that he is a risk to public safety, having been found guilty of the crime,” Morente said.

“Hence he was tagged as an undesirable alien, and will be expelled from the Philippines,” he added.

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 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