BY GENALYN D. KABILING
United States Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton may now be released from detention and go home after President Duterte granted him absolute pardon, Malacañang announced Monday.
The presidential pardon came a few days after a local court ordered the early release of Pemberton due to reduced prison term as a result of good behavior. Pemberton was convicted for the 2014 killing of Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude.
“Puwede na po siyang umuwi dahil mayroon na siyang pardon,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said about the absolute pardon given to the US soldier.
“Ano ibig sabihin ng absolute pardon? Ibig sabihin na makakalaya na si Pemberton. Wala na pong isyu kung siya entitled sa GCTA, wala na pong isyu kung applicable ang batas dahil hindi siya nakulong sa national penitentiary,” he said.
By granting absolute pardon, Roque explained that the President has erased the punishment for Pemberton but not his conviction for the death of Laude.
“Binura na po ni Presidente kung ano pa ang parusa na dapat ipapataw kay Pemberton.. ang hindi po nabura ni Presidente ay ang conviction ni Pemberton, mamamatay tao pa rin siya,” said Roque, who served as legal counsel of the Laude family before joining the Duterte government.
Asked why Duterte allowed Pemberton to walk free, Roque said the President doesn’t have to give any reason for the grant of pardon.
He insisted that the granting pardon or parole is a power of the Executive branch, not the Judiciary. “‘Yan po ay one of the most presidential of all presidential powers, the grant of pardon and parole,” he said.
Asked about the President’s stance on the United States, Roque made clear that Duterte is “not anti-US.” He said the President advocates an independent foreign policy where the country is friend to all and enemy to none.
Just last week, Malacanang said Pemberton must stay in detention since the court ruling on his release is not yet final and executory. Roque said a motion for reconsideration on the court verdict must be resolved since the decision was an “instance of judicial overreach.”
An Olongapo City court has ordered the release of Pemberton for completing his prison sentence. His jail time was reportedly reduced though good conduct time allowance credits.
In 2015, Pemberton was sentenced to up to 12 years following his conviction for the killing of Laude. His jail time, however, was later reduced by the court to 10 years. Reports indicated Pemberton has been jailed at special facility inside Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City ever since.
