Philippine justice system

[OPINION] Making sense of Pemberton’s pardon

Teddy Casiño

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

[OPINION] Making sense of Pemberton’s pardon
The only way it could happen was in the context of Duterte’s fascism and dependence on the US, his bigotry, misogyny, and pursuit of naked self- interest

Nobody seems to have accepted at face value President Rodrigo Duterte’s explanation for granting absolute pardon to Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton, the US serviceman convicted of killing Filipino Jennifer Laude in 2014.

In his taped TV appearance last Monday, September 7, Duterte said he decided to free Pemberton from jail because it was unfair that no one could ascertain his period of detention and whether he was eligible for early release under the rules on good conduct time allowance (GCTA).

Since there were no reports of his bad behavior, Duterte said, it is to be presumed that he was well behaved while in detention.  Aside from being factually wrong, Duterte’s explanation simply didn’t make sense.

In the first place, the court handling Pemberton’s case had actually ruled that Pemberton was eligible for GCTA and, deciding that he had already served his minimum sentence, ordered his release from detention. It was upon learning of the judge’s order that Laude’s lawyers filed a motion to stop the release. This was followed by government prosecutors who likewise appealed the decision.

This meant that contrary to Duterte’s statement, there were official records of Pemberton’s detention enough for the court to determine that he was eligible for early release under the GCTA. It’s just that Laude’s family and the prosecution were appealing the court’s decision.

For Duterte, however, this constituted unfair treatment, enough for him to cut short the judicial process and just grant the poor fellow absolute pardon even without him applying for it.

The reasoning was so flawed and indefensible that Duterte’s flabbergasted spokesperson, Harry Roque, who was the Laudes’ former lawyer, had to desperately make a “guess” that this was somehow linked to the country’s getting some US-made COVID-19 vaccines at some future time.

Special treatment

In fact, Pemberton was not only treated fairly while in detention. He was given special treatment under the terms of the PH-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

His case was concluded in less than 10 months, well within the one-year deadline prescribed by the VFA and exceptionally swift by Philippine standards. His sentence was even later reduced from 12 to 10 years in prison.

Instead of the usual congested jail in Muntinlupa, he was detained in an airconditioned facility especially built for him in the grounds of the Joint US Military Assisstance Group compound in Camp Aguinaldo. It is unlikely he was ever given munggo and tuyo to eat.

And finally, after serving just 5 years and 8 months of his 10-year sentence, the court granted his motion for early release under the GCTA rules. This constitutes VIP treatment, considering that the program had been suspended for most eligible prisoners since the GCTA scandal in August last year.

Master politician’s move

Pemberton’s lawyers and Duterte’s officials, including Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr and Justice Secretary Menardo Guevara, claim that Duterte’s action was his and his alone. No one asked for it. Not Pemberton, not the US government, not his own officials.

Granting that this was true, then this would count as a classic move by Duterte the narcissist and master politician.

Since his days as mayor of Davao, Duterte has always basked in doing the unexpected and outrageous. From making lewd and misogynist remarks, threats of killing, cursing the Pope, to hobnobbing with communist rebels, Duterte has always prided himself as a wildcard.

Through such antics, Duterte has managed to be always at the center of controversy and attention, something crucial to his political success.

Pardoning Pemberton would be sure to shock even his allies, raise the hackles of his critics, and make everyone talk about him. Given the right spin, it could even be made to appear Solomonic and project him as an out- of-the-box problem solver.  

Affinity for killers

In explaining his action, Duterte compared Pemberton to other criminals convicted of drug related crimes. He said unlike the drug traffickers, a killer like Pemberton deserved fairness.

This was echoed by Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo in his TV program “Counterpoint” shown over PTV this week. He said former president Noynoy Aquino did worse by pardoning an American national (actually a Briton) convicted of drug trafficking. Pemberton’s crime, he said, was “homicide lang;” a little thing compared to dealing drugs.

A misogynist commander-in-chief who repeatedly incites his men to kill criminals and rebels with promises of an automatic pardon if made to account will not find it hard to pardon a male soldier who happened to kill what he probably considers an abomination – a transgender woman suspected of prostitution.

It would be reflective of Duterte’s attitude towards killing what he may consider as the dregs of society.

Currying favor with Washington

The US government might not have asked Duterte to pardon Pemberton, but he did it to get on their good side.

Roque deludes himself in guessing that Pemberton’s pardon will ensure access to US-made Covid-19 vaccines. But decisions on such matters are based on strategic considerations, not as a payback for some unsolicited favor.

The vaccine race has more to do with the US’ ongoing feud with China than Pemberton’s release. Those vaccines, whether made by the US, China or Russia, will most likely be used to bargain for political, economic and military concessions.

To be sure, Duterte’s act of mercy will get some favorable nods from Washington and the Pentagon. “He may be a son of a bitch. But he’s our son of a bitch” pretty much sums up the US government’s long-running policy on dictators and despots.

This is important for Duterte not so much as a leverage against China or an assurance for getting US-made Covid-19 vaccines, but as a guarantee for his stay in power until 2022 and possibly beyond.

Duterte, who had previously expressed fears of a US-backed coup de etat, needs the US behind him to keep his US-trained and US-supplied military in check.

It would have been better for Duterte and the country if the court pushed through with its hearings and sided with the victim and the state. Then we could all brag about upholding the rule of law, asserting national sovereignty and dignity, and pursuing an independent foreign policy.

But Duterte chose to ignore all that and treat the Pemberton case as a political prop and future bargaining chip.

From a factual, legal, political and moral standpoint, Pemberton’s pardon should not have been granted. The only way it could happen was in the context of Duterte’s fascism and dependence on the US, his bigotry, misogyny, and pursuit of naked self-interest.

In that sense, it really makes no sense. – Rappler.com

Teddy Casiño served as the partylist representative of Bayan Muna for 3 terms, from 2004-2013. Prior to his stint in Congress, he was secretary-general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan.

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