Cries of justice for Laude ring out in Olongapo

ON THE first death anniversary of transgender woman Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, supporters and friends of the Laude family march in Olongapo City carrying banners calling for justice through the conviction of US Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton, who is facing a murder charge for the slaying of Laude.

OLONGAPO CITY—This was a murder case which a still grieving family from this city in Zambales province does not want the country to forget.

Around 300 supporters, friends and members of gender rights lobby groups joined the family of slain transgender woman Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude stage a “remembrance walk” on Sunday, a year after she was found dead at a motel here.

The marchers, many carrying banners, passed in front of Celzone Lodge, the last place Laude was seen alive.

Her body was discovered by a motel employee beside a toilet in the room she rented with a foreigner, who was later identified by witnesses as US Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton.

Laude’s family is waiting for Regional Trial Court Judge Roline Ginez-Jabalde to issue a ruling by Dec. 14, the last day of a one-year prescription granted by the Visiting Forces Agreement to complete criminal cases against any American soldier.

The family ended the commemoration by visiting Laude’s grave at the Heritage Garden here.

“It has been a year of agony and sacrifice. At this point, all I want is to get justice for Jennifer,” said Julita Laude, the victim’s mother.

The grieving does not end until Pemberton is jailed, she said.

“The first death anniversary of Jennifer Laude means one year of injustice [suffered by] all of us,” said lawyer Virgie Lacsa Suarez, one of the family’s counsels. “It means one year of unspeakable pain and suffering for Nanay Julita and Michelle and Malou (Laude’s sisters).”

The family is fearful that the “recent turn of events” has made justice more elusive for them, said their lead counsel, lawyer Harry Roque Jr.

Roque said the nomination of a Department of Justice official to replace Secretary Leila de

Lima when she resigns to run for the Senate next year might influence the murder case against Pemberton.

He said there is a “clear conflict of interest” since this official was part of the legal defense team for the American soldiers who were implicated in the 2005 rape case of a Filipino woman named “Nicole.”

Roque also challenged an assertion made in court in the final stages of the trial by Pemberton’s lawyers, who argued that he should be acquitted because of the quality of the prosecution’s evidence.

Lawyer Rowena Garcia-Flores, one of Pemberton’s counsels, had cited a US Naval Criminal Investigative Service report that reportedly identified traces of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) belonging to a “third party.”

“There was another person who entered the [motel] room [aside from Pemberton] and the evidence came from them [prosecution],” Flores had said.

“These allegations were not proven in the court. They (Pemberton’s lawyers) did not present evidence to support their theory that it was not Pemberton who killed Laude,” Roque said.

“[But] those conjectures have had a great impact [and have been] conditioning the mind of the public,” he said.

“I’m apprehensive that the future of our case against Pemberton is uncertain given those statements made by Pemberton’s camp, but we’re still hoping that the court will favor the prosecution,” Roque said.

The family is not alone in their fight for justice.

In Makati City on Sunday, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community gathered to remember Laude in an event called “Vaklash.”

“Vaklash is coined from the terms ‘vaklush,’ a colloquial term for gay, and ‘backlash,” according to statement issued by LGBT organization, Bahaghari.

Aaron Bonette, Bahaghari spokesperson, said the Laude murder “goes beyond one man’s crime against another.”

“This is about us, Filipinos, standing up against moves of the US to protect its interest. It is about us standing up for our sovereignty,” Bonette said. Allan Macatuno, Inquirer Central Luzon