U.S. Marine
Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton: Charged in the
Philippines with the murder of
Jeffrey 'Jennifer' Laude, a transgender
man who Pemberton seems to have killed upon
finding Laude was not
a 'real woman,' the U.S. military refuses to hand him
over.
Pemberton
Murder Case is a Treaty Breaker for the Philippines (The Philippine Star, Philippines)
"The big
question is whether President Aquino is prepared
to play power poker. Termination would put an end to the Philippine
humiliation of having a foreign power, claiming to be a friend and ally, mock
its judicial process by refusing to surrender custody of U.S. Marine Cpl.
Joseph Scott Pemberton, accused of murdering a Filipino, to a proper court. ELet
us move for amendment. Failing that, serve notice of termination (to take
affect after 180 days) to force the reopening of substantive renegotiations. Without
the VFA, Pemberton will have to be taken into custody
by a Philippine court."
TERMINATE IT!:
Instead of allowing itself to be led by the nose by the United States on the Laude murder case,
the Philippine government should immediately serve notice of its intention to
amend the 1998
Visiting Forces Agreement [VFA] on criminal
jurisdiction and other issues.
Failing that - since the VFA has
no provision for renegotiation or amendment - the Philippine government should move
one step further and notify the U.S. that it is terminating the deal after the
agreed-upon 180-day notice period.
Depending on the political mood on both sides, the notice of
termination should force a renegotiation - even if the procedure for rewriting
the VFA is not in the text of the agreement.
The big question is whether President Noynoy
Aquino is prepared to play power poker.
IMPLICATIONS: What
if the U.S. bluffs and says it is amenable to dropping (terminating) the VFA altogether? So be it!
Termination would put an end to the Philippine humiliation
of having a foreign power, claiming to be a friend and ally, mock its judicial
process by refusing to surrender custody of U.S. Marine Cpl. Joseph Scott
Pemberton, accused of murdering a Filipino, to a proper court.
Termination means there will be no more VFA
and its Article
V (Criminal Jurisdiction) that the U.S. invokes with its splitting-hairs
argument that while the Olongapo court has
jurisdiction over the case, custody of the accused Pemberton remains with the United
States.
With VFA terminated, only
pertinent Philippine laws and local court procedures will control. The Olongapo court will then have sole and exclusive
jurisdiction and custody of the U.S. Marine.
Jeffrey
'Jennifer' Laude: Drowned to death in a motel toilet. Investigators
theorize that she was
killed when U.S. Marine Scott Pemberton realized
What will apply is power politics. President Aquino better
be ready to play hardball.
The mighty United States can pressure President Aquino and
the array of business interests that to a great extent control the actions of
the sitting administration.
President Aquino should be ready to withstand the pressure
since he is not running, and cannot run even if he wanted to, for reelection.
He can just wave goodbye to the entire mess. To pressure him in his last two
years, the White House will have to use other levers of influence.
Believing in Filipino resiliency, I dare say that we can
survive any U.S. move to make it difficult for us.
U.S. VERSION: At
this point, it seems Malacañang
[the presidential palace] is already feeling the pressure.
We now have an anomaly in which the Philippines itself is
going through contortions to justify Pemberton’s remaining outside its custody
and being held in the exclusive embrace of the U.S. Malacañang
itself is already surrendering a point of sovereignty.
Listen to Foreign Affairs spokesman discuss the Pemberton
case and weep. He twists and mumbles his assigned lines justifying U.S.
custody.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg joins in and explains the
Philippine befuddlement, saying that authorities on both sides are working out
a “common interpretationEof the contentious VFA
provision on criminal jurisdiction and custody.
We aren't holding our breath. As sure as Pemberton will be
freed and some Laude family members awarded U.S. visas, the “common
interpretationEbeing sought will be substantially the American version.
THE TEXT: For
quick reference of readers, here is the text of Section 6 of Article V in
question:
6. The custody of any
United States personnel over whom the Philippines is to exercise jurisdiction
shall immediately reside with United States military authorities, if they so
request, from the commission of the offense until completion of all judicial proceedings.
United States military authorities shall, upon formal notification by the
Philippine authorities and without delay, make such personnel available to
those authorities in time for any investigative or judicial proceedings
relating to the offense with which the person has been charged. In
extraordinary cases, the Philippine Government shall present its position to
the United States Government regarding custody, which the United States
Government shall take into full account. In the event Philippine judicial
proceedings are not completed within one year, the United States shall be
relieved of any obligations under this paragraph. The one year period will not
include the time necessary to appeal. Also, the one year period will not
include any time during which scheduled trial procedures are delayed because
United States authorities, after timely notification by Philippine authorities
to arrange for the presence of the accused, fail to do so.
MANILA YIELDING:
Goldberg said in a TV interview: “We are going back and forth about this issue
but at the same time working out what I think are mutually satisfactory
solutions so that we can keep the suspect for example - as we have in Camp
Aguinaldo - where we both have a role in making sure the suspect appears for
trial.
He explained: “We have certain legal and service-related
obligations to a U.S. soldier, who is in this case a Marine.
A helpless Foreign Office appears to have surrendered,
saying it would no longer contest U.S. custody of Pemberton. The U.S.
justification for keeping him while on trial, it added, was “not inconsistentE
with the VFA.
The devil is in the details of the VFA
that then-President Fidel V. Ramos allowed into the body of a lopsided contract
with the United States.
This brings us to our original point: Let us move for
amendment. Failing that, serve notice of termination (to take affect after 180
days) to force the reopening of substantive renegotiations.
Without the VFA, Pemberton will
have to be taken into custody by a Philippine court.
