Photos | Campaign for #Justice4Jennifer, #junkVFA gains momentum
Social and traditional media are abuzz with stories about protest actions and activities of groups from different sectors and even those abroad that call for justice for Jennifer Laude, a transgender woman murdered in an Olongapo City hotel last week. Police said the main suspect is a US Marine, Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, […]
Social and traditional media are abuzz with stories about protest actions and activities of groups from different sectors and even those abroad that call for justice for Jennifer Laude, a transgender woman murdered in an Olongapo City hotel last week.
Police said the main suspect is a US Marine, Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, one of about 4,000 US soldiers who participated in joint military exercises of PH and US militaries more than a week ago. As of this writing, Pemberton is reportedly being held in an American amphibious ship, USS Peleliu, docked in Subic Bay port.
But US military authorities have so far not turned over the suspect to local police. Activist groups, including LGBT groups, have pressed the Aquino government to assert criminal jurisdiction over the suspect, including custody of Pemberton. They fear a reprise of the Subic rape case may happen — that is, the US government again may refuse custody of one of its soldiers suspected of committing a gruesome crime in the Philippines.
Laude’s case, the groups say, is only one of many that prove the lopsidedness of the PH-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), as well as the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), in favor of the US government.
Here are images of calls for justice for Jennifer Laude and junking of the VFA: