Kin of slain transgendered Filipino breach security to confront suspect

From the Business World (Oct 22): Kin of slain transgendered Filipino breach security to confront suspect

RELATIVES of a slain transgendered Filipino woman climbed the eight-feet high steel fence surrounding a facility in Camp Aguinaldo where the accused killer, a United States serviceman, is currently detained.

Marilou Laude and German national Marc Sueselbeck, the sister and German boyfriend of slain Jeffrey Laude, respectively, breached security to confront the accused, United States Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, authorities said.

However, they were later stopped by patrolling guards before they could get near the second steel fencing surrounding the detention facility.

The military was prompted to deploy more troops, particularly its Civil Disturbance Management Unit, in the surrounding area following the incident to increase security for the detained US Marine.

Mr. Pemberton was transferred to the Philippines’ military headquarters early Wednesday morning, after a huge public clamor for him to be moved off an American warship.

A US helicopter delivered Mr. Pemberton to Camp Aguinaldo where he will be jointly guarded by American and local troops, military chief Gen. Gregorio Pio P. Catapang, Jr. said.

The accused was detained in a 20-footer (28-cubic-meter) van that was installed inside the facility and will be sleeping in a military-type cot bed with an air-conditioning system

Mr. Catapang said the arrangement was mutually agreed by the two defense allies, whose military ties have been put under scrutiny by the murder.

“I think the US government is also sensitive to our feelings that this unfortunate incident happened, and they also want to show that they believe in our justice system,” Mr. Catapang said.

For her part, Justice Secretary Leila M. de Lima said Mr. Pemberton’s transfer is a clear sign that the US government is closely cooperating with the Philippines.

“We hope that the US will continue to demonstrate good faith,” Ms. de Lima told reporters on Wednesday.

A US embassy spokeswoman did not immediately return calls by the AFP seeking comment.

Filipino police said Mr. Pemberton was the last person seen with the 26-year-old victim, who was found in a hotel bathroom in the red-light district of the northern port city of Olongapo on Oct. 12.

Meanwhile, President Benigno S. C. Aquino III assured on Wednesday that Mr. Pemberton will not receive special treatment while prosecution is ongoing.

Speaking before a Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) forum, Mr. Aquino clarified that the US serviceman is being given “special negative treatment,” because he will be detained while preliminary investigation on the murder complaint against him is ongoing.

He also described Mr. Pemberton’s transfer to the Philippine military headquarters earlier in the day as a “healthy development” in the government’s efforts to seek justice for the victim and showed the United States’ “response to our sensitivities.”

“He is being made available for the investigative, and eventually the judicial, processes,” he said.

However, the President sidestepped questions on Mr. Pemberton’s custody, merely saying the issue will be addressed once the suspect is formally charged and ordered arrested by the Olongapo City court.

Mr. Aquino also committed to settle the case “in the sense that the guilty will be made to answer for the crime.”

The President maintained it would be “far-fetched” to scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the US just to stop crimes being committed against Filipinos by US soldiers.

“If we abrogate the VFA, does that mean that nobody from the Philippines will be killed by someone from the US?” he said, adding that the treaty “serves a purpose for our country, and serves a purpose for America.”

During a hearing of the Senate foreign relations committee, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario echoed the President’s sentiments, saying it was the VFA that made prosecuting the US soldier possible. Before the agreement, American servicemen would automatically be tried under their court martial system, he said.

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=kin-of-slain-transgendered-filipino-breach-security-to-confront-suspect&id=96560