MANILA, Philippines — The government confirmed on Friday that pardoned American serviceman Joseph Pemberton was already undergoing the process of deportation to the United States, but officials insisted that his pardon had nothing to do with the country’s acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines from the United States.
Department of Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete confirmed Pemberton was released by the Bureau of Corrections to the custody of the Bureau of Immigration at 11:52 a.m. on Friday and was in the process of deportation.
Pemberton’s lawyers are also securing a National Bureau of Investigation clearance and awaiting the result of his COVID-19 test.
“The whole process of official release and deportation can be completed by the weekend, but the date of Pemberton’s actual release exit from the country depends on his flight arrangements, considering that he is a military personnel of the United States,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told reporters.
The moment he boards his flight out of the country, the United States Embassy will obtain his custody, the secretary added.
Guevarra declined to comment on presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s personal opinion that Pemberton’s presidential pardon had something to do with the country’s acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines.
“I cannot speculate on the President’s motives. He has explained his reason for granting pardon to Mr. Pemberton. For me that’s the end of the story. Let’s move on,” he said.
HANDOVER Bureau of Corrections officials on Friday turned over custody of US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton, shown standing beside his lawyer, Rowena Garcia-Flores, to Bureau of Immigration personnel, bringing him closer to freedom after he was granted absolute pardon by President Duterte in the killing of transgender woman Jennifer Laude in 2014. —PHOTO FROM BUCOR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
No quid pro quo
But the Department of Health (DOH) belied Roque’s speculation that a quid pro quo was reached that led to the release of Pemberton, who was convicted of killing transgender woman Jennifer Laude in 2014. Roque was the lawyer for Laude’s family at the time.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire pointed out that while they have had discussions with American vaccine manufacturers, there were no conditions for the Philippines to be able to secure supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine once it becomes available.
“We did not receive any condition. Based on the discussions that we have had with the different manufacturers from the United States, like what we have always said, it has to go through our regulatory process to ensure that it is safe and effective against COVID-19,” Vergeire said.
‘He promised to help us’
Currently, DOH and the Department of Science and Technology are in talks with at least two dozen vaccine manufacturers, including American firms Pfizer and Moderna, Australia’s University of Queensland, China’s Sinovac Biotech and Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute, among others.
But Laude’s family was more concerned with justice for Jennifer and blamed President Duterte, who supposedly turned his back on the family.
“It was him (Mr. Duterte) who promised to help us in our fight. He even gave us financial help and was happy that we had been fighting for our case,” said Jennifer’s mother, Julita Cabillan.
According to Cabillan, Mr. Duterte had assured them that “as long as he is the President, he will never let Pemberton get out of prison.”
“If not for that pardon, we could have a chance in our fight to make Pemberton suffer 10 years imprisonment. Ten years of jail term for the life of my child are all we wanted,” Cabillan said in Filipino.
The Laude family had opposed the release order of Pemberton through a motion in court but it was already deemed moot and academic by the presidential pardon on Monday.
Pemberton’s pardon was met with protests in Olongapo and in Metro Manila. —with a report from Joanna Rose Aglibot