MANILA, Philippines — Pardoned U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton has tested negative for the novel coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2, which causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said Saturday.
On Saturday, BuCor sent a copy of the result of Pemberton’s reverse transcription-polymerase (RT-PCR) chain test. It said the novel coronavirus was not detected.
“Test result: SARS-CoV-2 (causative agent of COVID-19) viral RNA not detected,” read the laboratory test result issued by the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa on Sept. 12.
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According to the test result, the RITM collected Pemberton’s specimen last Wednesday, Sept. 9. The result was released on Saturday at 1 a.m.
Pemberton, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude, was granted absolute pardon by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Despite public outrage, Pemberton is nearly free from detention while his National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance and flight arrangements remain pending.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the NBI clearance is one of the mandatory documents for deportation proceedings which will make sure that the subject for deportation has no pending cases in the Philippines.
Prior to the granting of pardon, Pemberton was supposed to be released after an Olongapo court said he had completed his jail sentence following the computation of his good conduct time allowance.
According to Virgie Lacsa-Suarez, legal counsel of the Laude family, the U.S. Marines did not apologize to them while Pemberton was in jail.