BY JEFFREY DAMICOG
Convicted US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton will be barred from coming back to the Philippines once he is deported after his release from jail, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said Wednesday.
DoJ Undersecretary Markk Perete said there is an existing deportation order against the American serviceman who was granted absolute pardon by President Duterte last Monday.
“So he will be deported by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) once ma-release siya ng BuCor (Bureau of Corrections),” added Perete who has supervision over the BI.
Pemberton, however, could be blacklisted from returning to the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the DoJ spokesman assured there is ongoing coordination between the BuCor and the BI in the transfer of Pemberton’s custody to effect the deportation.
“Matagal na palang naging final ‘yung deporation order,” Perete noted.
The spokesman explained that those who committed crimes are “deportable based on undesirability.”
Pemberton was convicted of homicide in 2015 for the 2014 killing of transgender Jennifer Laude.
Sentenced to suffer imprisonment ranging from six to 10 years, the Olongapo City court which convicted him recently granted his motion for his early release based on the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) he accumulated.
The family of Laude had opposed Pemberton’s early release.
