By Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
A Philippine lawmaker called Wednesday for an end to an agreement governing the treatment of U.S. service personnel suspected of committing crimes on the archipelago.
Representative Terry Ridon demanded the revocation of the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows the U.S. to retain custody of personnel accused of crimes until the end of Philippine judicial procedures.
His comments have been sparked by outrage over the killing of a Filipino transgender woman. U.S. marine Joseph Scott Pemberton, who has been accused of the murder, was transferred to a Philippine military base Wednesday, although he still remains under U.S. custody and is guarded by fellow marines.
Private First Class Pemberton, 19, had previously been held aboard the USS Peleliu, an amphibious assault ship moored in Subic Bay, northwest of capital Manila. His detention in U.S. custody has led to protests and anti-U.S. sentiment was exacerbated Tuesday when he failed to attend a preliminary court hearing.
In a statement, Ridon, a lawmaker from the Kabataan party, said: “The situation we find ourselves in – a situation in which we hold a suspect in a Philippine detention facility yet we cannot decide on his activities without first consulting the U.S. – is a result of [the] VFA’s lopsided provisions."
“For decades, the VFA has made a mockery of Philippine laws, and it’s time that we put a stop to all this.”
Welcoming the transfer to Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Ridon insisted the government demand full custody.
“Transferring Pemberton to a Philippine detention facility is the result of the mounting public pressure for the suspect’s custody,” he said. “While it is indeed a positive development, Philippine authorities must still demand full custody.”
He added: “Putting Pemberton in this grey area is akin to not granting custody over Pemberton to Philippine authorities at all… The Aquino administration must still demand [the] clear, unequivocal surrender of Pemberton’s custody to the Philippines.”
Commenting on local media reports that Pemberton will be kept in an air-conditioned facility, Ridon said: “The AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] must not treat Pemberton like a VIP. After all, he’s not a distinguished visitor – he is the suspect in a heinous crime.”
Pemberton was one of 3,500 U.S. military personnel taking part in a joint exercise with the Philippines military. He is alleged to have murdered 26-year-old Jeffrey Laude, known as Jennifer, on Oct. 11 in Olongapo City, Zambales province. She had been beaten and strangled.
The killing inflamed anger at the presence of U.S. forces in the Philippines and came a few months after the U.S. signed a controversial pact to boost its military presence in the country.
In a statement the U.S. embassy in Manila confirmed Pemberton remains in U.S. custody. "In accordance with the US-Philippine Visiting Forces Agreement, the United States has a right to retain custody of a suspect from the commission of the alleged offense until completion of all judicial proceedings, " the statement said.
A statement from the U.S. Marine Corps said Pemberton would be kept in the Philippines “during the investigation and any potential judicial proceedings in accordance with the VFA.”
Philippine Chief of Staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said that placing Pemberton in Philippine custody "is out of the question."
Prosecutor Emilie Fe Delos Santos has required the marine’s presence at a court hearing next week.
Previous incidents involving U.S. personnel, such as the case of Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, convicted of rape by a Philippine court in 2006 but acquitted three years later, have fostered the belief that U.S. servicemen act with impunity towards the local population.
Two agreements – the Visiting Forces Agreement that governs U.S. military behavior and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, a 10-year deal that allows the U.S. to increase its military presence – are much criticized.
They are vital to U.S. plans to focus its military and economic power on the Asia-Pacific region to curb China's influence.
The Visiting Forces Agreement, signed in 1998, allowed the U.S. to establish more than 20 ‘semi permanent’ military bases in the Philippines, a former U.S. colony.
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