Manila to deport US marine whom Duterte pardoned
THE BUREAU of Immigration (BI) will deport the US marine convicted in 2015 for killing a Filipino sex worker and whom President Rodrigo R. Duterte pardoned.
In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Jaime H. Morente said he had asked the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to turn over US marine Joseph Scott Pemberton upon his release.
The deportation order against the American was issued in September 2015, he said, adding that he should be sent away as soon as he is released.
“We are awaiting instructions from Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra for guidance on how we will implement the deportation order,” Mr. Morente said.
An Olongapo trial court last week ordered Mr. Pemberton’s release for good conduct. The court found Mr. Pemberton guilty of homicide in a case that had ignited anti-American sentiment in the former US colony. The court sentenced him to six to 10 years in jail.
Pemberton could have faced a life sentence had the judge granted prosecutors’ request for a murder conviction. The court cited mitigating circumstances, saying Mr. Pemberton was drunk and got confused after discovering that the person he had hired for sex was male.
Jeffrey Laude, a 26-year-old male sex worker who identified as a woman, was found strangled in October 2014 in a motel.
Mr. Duterte pardoned him this week after the family of his victim appealed his early release. He said Mr. Duterte said he pardoned the American soldier because he had been treated unfairly.
In a televised speech on Monday night, the President said he had consulted Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra and Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea about the pardon. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
