MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Corrections will not yet process the release of US Marine L/Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton pending the appeal of the family of slain transgender woman Jennifer Laude on the Olongapo court’s order, the Department of Justice said.
“The motion for reconsideration would have to be resolved first. The Bureau of Corrections cannot preempt court action on the MR by prematurely releasing Pemberton,” DOJ Undersecretary Markk Perete told reporters on Thursday.
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Perete, also DOJ’s spokesperson, stressed that the corrections bureau will not yet process Pemberton’s release due to the pending motion for reconsideration filed by Laude’s family.
READ: Pemberton's early release for good conduct raises questions from Laude family
Olongapo Regional Trial Court Branch 74 Judge Roline Ginez-Jabalde held that Pemberton is now “entitled to be released for he had already served the ten-year maximum of his penalty.”
In a separate text to reporters, Gabriel Chaclag, BuCor spokesperson, said the bureau “respects the court processes and will wait for the resolution of the filed MR.”
The Olongapo Regional Trial Court Branch 74 on September 1 ordered the release of Pemberton, who strangled and killed Laude in 2014, nearly six years of imprisonment after it deducted time allowances the US soldier supposedly earned while in prison. The court held that he earned 1,548 days of time allowances for his good conduct counted from his preventive imprisonment until August 2020. Taken together with his 2,142 days in prison, he would have served 10 years, one month and one day—or more than his 10-year sentence.
But Laude’s mother, Marilou Laude-Mahait, filed a motion for reconsideration on the court's order and argued that there is no proof of good behavior from Pemberton, neither is there a showing that he participated in rehabilitation programs.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, citing a text message from BuCor Director General Gerald Bantag, also shared the DOJ’s advice to hold the processing of releasing. Roque addressed the Armed Forces of the Philippines, where Pemberton is serving his sentence, to await for the resolution on the appeal.
It is unclear whether the Olongapo court order is immediately executory.
Olongapo Regional Trial Court Branch 74 Judge Roline Ginez-Jabalde held that Pemberton is now “entitled to be released for he had already served the ten-year maximum of his penalty.”
“The Director General, Bureau of Corrections is directed to release accused L/Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton from detention unless he is being held for some other lawful cause or causes,” the order made public on Wednesday read.