Ambassador Philip Goldberg said that the United States has taken unusual
steps in allowing Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton to be
transferred to Camp Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo although still under US
custody.
“We went beyond our obligations under the Visiting Forces Agreement
(VFA) by reaching an agreement with the Philippines that allowed the
suspect to be moved to a facility at Camp Aguinaldo,” Goldberg said
during a roundtable discussion at the US embassy last Friday.
Pemberton, who was tagged as a suspect in the death of transgender
Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, was flown last Wednesday from the USS Peleliu
to a Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) facility
at Camp Aguinaldo where he is now detained in an air-conditioned
container van.
“We need to always be conscious of the feelings here among people and
that’s why… we took this step of allowing – within our custody under
the VFA – a suspect to be moved to sovereign Philippine soil,” said the
Ambassador.
“That’s an unusual step and one meant to build confidence that we
understand the situation here, we’re sympathetic to the family, we’re
sympathetic to the Filipino people. But we also have to observe the rule
of law,” he added.
He said the detention of Pemberton in Camp Aguinaldo is aimed at
assuring people that the suspect “will be here for the length of the
hearings and possibly if it will come to a trial and to show that we are
working cooperatively together but within the framework of the rule of
law.”
When asked if they are willing to hand over Pemberton to Philippine
authorities and allow him to be put in Philippine jail if and when an
arrest warrant is issued against the US marine, Goldberg again referred
to the VFA.
“We’ll follow the VFA and the VFA gives custody to the US,” he
stated. The VFA provides that Philippine courts will have jurisdiction
over erring US troops, but custody will remain with the US.
He stressed though that the US will continue to cooperate with Philippine authorities in finding justice for the victim.
“We are going to cooperate under the VFA to make sure, if in the
case… there is a suspect. But in a case such as one where a US service
person is involved, the US retains custody and has obligations under the
VFA to make sure that a person identified would then be present for all
hearings… and the witnesses would as well,” according to Goldberg.
“Those are our obligations under the VFA and we intend to follow them
just as we expect that all the provisions will be followed. And we have
to understand that we have a legally constituted agreement that is part
of the rule of law,” he added.
According to the Ambassador, they are also interested in justice for
Laude and emphasized that the US is doing everything in pursuit of
justice. He they have been as transparent as possible in terms of the
cooperation given to Philippine authorities.
“I’ve mentioned a couple of times that this case may not have been
solved as quickly or as effectively without our cooperation,” he said.
“Our work to date through the VFA has allowed us to identify a
suspect, identify witnesses, to cooperate and collaborate with the
Philippine National Police (PNP). And quite frankly I don’t know that
that would have happened if it hadn’t been for our cooperation with
investigators from the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)
He went on to say that the US government also have obligation to protect Pemberton or any member of the US armed services.
“That’s the commitment we make to the American people and the
American Congress to do those things as government representatives and
as the US military. So that’s the reason we do these things to make
sure that all rights are protected, but also to ensure that justice is
done,” said Goldberg.
As this developed, Armed forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff
Gen. Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. will award a plaque of recognition to
Army Technical Sergeant Mariano Pamittan who kept his cool despite being
shoved and assaulted during the fence-scaling incident at the MDB-SEB
facility.
Pamittan is one of the AFP personnel detailed to guard Pemberton.
Lt. Col. Harold M. Cabunoc, AFP public affairs office (PAO) chief,
said Pamittan will be cited for his professionalism and restraint during
the incident last Oct. 22., in which Laude’s fiancé, German national
Marc Sueselbeck and one of the slain transgender’s sister, Marilou,,
made an unauthorized entry.
After climbing the perimeter fence, Sueselbeck assaulted and shoved the soldier, said Cabunoc.
