A former Justice official on Monday said the family of slain transgender woman Jeffrey Laude cannot question the arrangement for the detention of US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton who was convicted of homicide last week.
Former Justice Undersecretary Jose Justiniano stressed that the Laude family has no legal standing to contest the detention of Pemberton inside the Armed Forces headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
It should be the prosecutors of the Department of Justice who should take the issue to the Supreme Court, Justiniano said.
“If ever this matter is brought to the SC, it should be the DoJ through the Office of the Solicitor General and not the private lawyer,” Justiniano said in an interview.
Justiniano, who was part of the defense team of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith `in the 2005 Subic rape case, stressed that the interest of the Laude family should be limited to the civil aspect of the case.
“When you file the complaint, your interest is civil in nature since a criminal case is the interest of the State. This is why the private prosecutor is always under the jurisdiction of the public prosecutor,” he explained.
The former Justice official said it would be difficult for the Laude camp and their private lawyers to justify their challenge to the detention of Pemberton in court.
Justiniano made the statements after the Laude family and their lawyers led by Harry Roque Jr. expressed intention to assail Pemberton’s continued detention in Camp Aguinaldo before the Supreme Court.
The issue on detention of Pemberton after promulgation of his conviction last Dec. 1 arose after the Olongapo Regional Trial Court, Branch 74, ordered his transfer to the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City pending agreement between the US and Philippine governments on his detention facility as provided under the Visiting Forces Agreement between the two countries.
But the DoJ said that Pemberton would remain in detention in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City despite the conviction.
VFA officials also informed the RTC that there was an agreement between the two governments to have Pemberton temporarily detained at AFP custodial center in Camp Aguinaldo under the watch of Bureau of Corrections personnel pending completion of the judicial process, including appeal of his conviction.
This prompted Judge Roline Jinez–Jabalde to issue another order Tuesday evening committing the American serviceman to the Camp Aguinaldo facility.
Meanwhile, the Makabayan Bloc in the House of Representatives issued a resolution denouncing the blatant disregard of Philippine sovereignty by the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement as shown in the aftermath of convictions involving American military service personnel.
In House Resolution 2550, the seven members of the bloc called for the immediate abrogation of the VFA and cited Article II Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution which provides that “(t)he State shall pursue an independent foreign policy.
The resolution was authored by Reps. Luz Ilagan and Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela; Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna; Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers; Fernando Hicap of Anakpawis and Terry Ridon of Kabataan.
The resolution cited how the Olongapo RTC court’s decision on the detention of Pfc Joseph Scott Pemberton was defied following his conviction for the killing of Jennifer Laude.
“The decision originally stated that Pemberton shall be committed temporarily to the New Bilibid Prison. However, the decision was amended directing Pemberton to be detained in his detention facility at Camp Aguinaldo pending the conclusion of the agreement between the Philippine and US governments as to where he shall be detained pursuant to the provisions of the VFA,” the resolution noted.