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Marine suspect guarded by US in Philippine camp
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U.S. Marine suspected in the gruesome killing of a transgender Filipino was transferred Wednesday from his warship to the Philippine military's main camp, where he will continue to be guarded by fellow Marines, in a compromise that eased a looming irritant over his custody.
The case involving Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton and Jennifer Laude, whose former name was Jeffrey, came about as the Philippines and the United States began implementing a new accord that allows greater U.S. access to Philippine military camps. Washington wants to reassert its presence in the region, and Manila to deter China's territorial claims.
Left-wing activists and nationalist Filipinos have cited the custody provision of the accord ' which says American military suspects shall remain in U.S. custody until legal processes are over ' as proof that the accord undermines the sovereignty of the Philippines, which was an American colony until 1946.
Pemberton's transfer by helicopter to Manila was agreed by the U.S. and the Philippines, military chief of staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang told a news conference in Manila.
The 19-year-old Marine, who arrived in handcuffs, will be detained in an air-conditioned container van with grilled windows, directly guarded by U.S. Marines while Philippine military police will be posted outside the fenced compound, Catapang said.
"They agreed to put him in a facility which will pass U.S. custodial standards," Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told The Associated Press. "We're happy with this because he's a suspect in a crime that was committed in our country."
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who has described Laude's death as tragic, told the AP that the arrangement showed "mechanisms are in place so that justice can be served," adding there was strong cooperation between the treaty allies.
While the suspect has been moved to a Philippine camp, he remains in U.S. custody, the U.S. Marine Corps said, citing the Visiting Forces Agreement, which stipulates treatment of American military personnel suspected of breaking law.
The Marine Corps takes allegations of illegal acts by its forces seriously, Marine Corps Pacific spokesman Col. Brad Bartelt said, but added: "It is important to remember that anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that Washington seeks no special privilege for the suspect but only protection of his rights.
Philippine and U.S. authorities engaged in a high-profile custody battle over another U.S. Marine, Daniel Smith, who was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison on charges of raping a Filipino woman in 2005, also at the Subic freeport.
Smith was held at the U.S. Embassy in Manila until a Philippine appeals court overturned his conviction in 2009, allowing him to leave the country amid anti-U.S. protests.
In the latest case, Philippine police and witnesses said Pemberton and Laude, 26, met at a disco bar in Olongapo city on Oct. 11, then went to a motel room where Laude's body was later found in the bathroom. She had apparently been drowned in the toilet bowl, according to police Chief Inspector Gil Domingo.
U.S. Pacific Commander Adm. Samuel Locklear had ordered the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu, where Pemberton was detained, to stay in Subic amid an investigation. The warship joined large-scale combat exercises that ended Oct. 10.
On Wednesday, Locklear cleared the Peleliu to leave the Philippines.
Under the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows U.S. forces to conduct combat drills in the country, the Philippines can prosecute American service members, but the U.S. has custody over them "from the commission of the offense until completion of all judicial proceedings." The Philippine Supreme Court, however, ruled in 2009 that convicted U.S. military personnel must serve any sentence in Philippine detention.
Left-wing groups have staged small protests at the U.S. Embassy in Manila and Subic, and some Philippine senators have called for a review or abrogation of the 1998 accord.
President Benigno Aquino III on Monday defended the agreement, saying a crime can happen anywhere and "the sin of one person" should not reflect on the entire country.
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Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report. (**)
