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DFA tells military to keep mum on Pemberton
(Updated 10:17 p.m.) Only the Department of Foreign Affairs is authorized to answer questions on US Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton, the main suspect in the killing of transgender woman Jeffrey "Jennifer" Laude, the chief of the armed forces said Monday.
"We are not supposed to answer questions about it. There was already an instruction for us as regards Pemberton... The order came from the DFA, they said they’ll be the ones to answer questions," Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Lt. Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang said.
He said that the DFA issued a gag order on the AFP on Sunday in connection with the murder case filed against Pemberton, who is detained at the Mutual Defense Board – Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) facility in Camp Aguinaldo.
"They said our job is to secure him only," the AFP chief said.
Reached for comment, DFA spokesman Charles Jose told GMA News Online that he is "not aware of that order from DFA."
Request to see suspect
Laude's family has asked the AFP for permission to see Pemberton. In a letter sent through counsel, the family said they do not have clear proof that the suspect is indeed being held at the detention facility.
However, AFP spokesperson Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said the matter is beyond the military's control. He suggested that the family write to the US Embassy and the DFA about the request.
Meanwhile, Pemberton was a no-show at the second preliminary investigation on Monday and waived his right to submit his counter-affidavit in connection with the murder case.
Instead of a counter-affidavit, defense lawyer Rowena Garcia-Flores presented three separate motions for clarification of the murder complaint, declaration that there was no probable cause, and reduction of charges to homicide.
But Olongapo City Prosecutor Emilie Fe delos Santo denied all motions, saying they were a strategy to extend the filing of the counter-affidavit.
An inspection on the crime scene is set on November 5. — Trisha Macas/JDS, GMA News
"We are not supposed to answer questions about it. There was already an instruction for us as regards Pemberton... The order came from the DFA, they said they’ll be the ones to answer questions," Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Lt. Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang said.
He said that the DFA issued a gag order on the AFP on Sunday in connection with the murder case filed against Pemberton, who is detained at the Mutual Defense Board – Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) facility in Camp Aguinaldo.
"They said our job is to secure him only," the AFP chief said.
Reached for comment, DFA spokesman Charles Jose told GMA News Online that he is "not aware of that order from DFA."
Request to see suspect
Laude's family has asked the AFP for permission to see Pemberton. In a letter sent through counsel, the family said they do not have clear proof that the suspect is indeed being held at the detention facility.
However, AFP spokesperson Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said the matter is beyond the military's control. He suggested that the family write to the US Embassy and the DFA about the request.
Meanwhile, Pemberton was a no-show at the second preliminary investigation on Monday and waived his right to submit his counter-affidavit in connection with the murder case.
Instead of a counter-affidavit, defense lawyer Rowena Garcia-Flores presented three separate motions for clarification of the murder complaint, declaration that there was no probable cause, and reduction of charges to homicide.
But Olongapo City Prosecutor Emilie Fe delos Santo denied all motions, saying they were a strategy to extend the filing of the counter-affidavit.
An inspection on the crime scene is set on November 5. — Trisha Macas/JDS, GMA News
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