Relatives of transgender Filipina Jennifer Laude joined activist groups on Saturday afternoon to picket a pier where a US warship that the suspect in her death is being detained is docked.
A photo tweeted by GMA News reporter Rida Reyes showed protesters carrying placards and signs calling for the jailing of Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton.
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Some of the picketers also called for the scrapping of the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
The VFA governs the conduct and treatment of visiting US servicemen taking part in joint military exercises. The EDCA was signed earlier this year and allows an increased US troop presence in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, a separate photo tweeted by GMA News' Hadji Rieta showed the militants directing their chants at the USS Peleliu, where Pemberton is assigned.
Pemberton faces a murder complaint before the Olongapo City Prosecutor's Office for the killing of Laude, who was found dead in a lodge in the city last week.
Protesters barred from boarding
According to a "News TV Live" report, the family and supporters of Laude were barred from boarding the Peleliu.
Instead, the victim's kin stepped outside and talked to the media. They said they are feeling desperate because it has been a week since her death and they yet to face the suspect.
The family expects to meet the suspect at the preliminary investigation of the case on October 21, the report added.
Based on organizational affiliations noted on the placards in the photo, "activist" participants in this protest action appear to come from two disparate groups, both communist and both noted for their opposition to any US military presence in the Philippines.
ReplyDeleteThe KMU or Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU-May One Movement) is a radical labor center associated with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). The KMU is a member of the main CPP umbrella front organization BAYAN (Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-New Patriotic Alliance).
On the other hand, the KPD (Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya-Movement for National Democracy) is the main umbrella front organization linked to the breakaway Marxist-Leninist Party of the Philippines (MLPP). The MLPP, active mainly in Central Luzon, was reportedly established in 1998 following an ideological split with the CPP.
KAISA KA, is a sectoral front for women associated with the KPD.