US marine charged with murder in the Philippines

Jeffrey Laude, aka Jenny, a transgender woman, was murdered in Olongapo City in the Philippines on October 11th. Olongapo City is near Subic Bay where US forces are stationed.

An initial report in the Marine Corps Times from an internal Naval memo gave few details: “Philippine police report a homicide occurred in a hotel room in Olongapo City on the night of 11 October.The victim was reported as a male Philippine national ... preliminary witness statements indicate U.S. military personnel may have been involved.” However, on October 15, local officials charged Private first Class Joseph Pemberton with the murder of Laude. The Philippine government later served five subpoenas on the US embassy in Manila. One was for Pemberton and the other four for witnesses.
The murder happens more than two decades after US forces were expelled from the Subic Bay base. However, US forces continue to visit on a rotating basis and the Philippine government is now considering a new agreement that would allow more US troops to rotate through the country. Retired US Air Force Colonel Carl Baker who is director of programs at the Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies said: "The Philippines is really driven by public opinion. These type of incidents really have a big impact on how they view their relationship with the United States.”
 The night of her death Laude was said to be at the hotel or motel with a friend and a "foreigner". She was reported to be uneasy that the foreigner would find out that they were transgenders and asked the friend to leave before "the foreigner could discover they were transgenders". The autopsy showed that she died due to asphyxia by drowning. After her death photos surfaced showing her body leaning against a toilet, protests erupted among Filipino transgender rights activists. Some signs read "US troops out now". A police report called the murder a "hate crime".
 Some authorities claimed the incident is unlikely to have any significant longer term effect on Philippine US relations. The Philippines is anxious to have US support for claims to islands in the South China Sea that are also claimed by China and several other countries.
 Unlike in some countries such as Afghanistan, US troops in the Philippines do not have immunity from prosecution in Philippine courts. However, there are aspects of the agreement that are already a sore point with many in the Philippines. The agreement allows the US to retain custody of its own military members when they are charged with crimes rather than turning them over to Philippine authorities. They can remain in US custody until found guilty. After Laude's murder, there were demands that Pemberton be surrendered to Philippine authorities.
 The issue surfaced in a 2006 case when four marines were charged with raping a Filipina. Not only were all four held in custody by the US but when a judge found one marine guilty and ordered him turned over to local authorities, the order was never executed. Eventually when the woman on appeal changed her testimony the Marine was acquitted of the charge.
 A new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement was signed in April, that would see even more US military personnel rotate through the Philippines for the next decade but the agreement is being challenged before the Philippine Supreme Court. Philippine defense officials admit it may be several years yet before the agreement is enacted.
 Four witnesses who were summoned to appear at the Olongapo City Prosecutor's Office in connection with the murder already have left the Philippines according to the Philippine Dept. of Foreign Affairs. Charles Jose noted: “DFA was not informed by the US side that four witnesses were leaving the country. They are not required to do so” The US did give assurances that the witnesses will appear at the trial. In spite of the demands from protesters that Pemberton be kept in custody by Philippine authorities, the US Embassy in Manila said that it would keep Pemberton under US custody as was its right under the existing VFA. However, the Embassy also said that it would cooperate fully with Philippine authorities.
 There have been moves in the Philippine Congress to scrap the VFA. Miriam Santiago a prominent senator called for the VFA to be scrapped while others such as Herminio Coloma Jr., head of the presidential communications office said the government supported calls for the VFA to be reviewed.

Negroponte says US to help rid roots of terrorism in the Philippines

It will be news to many Filipinos I should think to hear that the corruption situation has improved very much if at all. Negroponte is of course all for democracy, peace, the elimination of poverty etc. as long as a country agrees to recognise U.S. supremacy. Negroponte is really a sterling example of U.S. concern for human rights in its satrapies. Here is a clip from an article by Noam Chomsky:
But nobody should overlook the ominous precedent: Negroponte learned his trade as US ambassador to Honduras in the 1980s, during the Reaganite phase of many of the incumbents in Washington, when the first war on terror was declared in Central America and the Middle East.
In April, Carla Anne Robbins of The Wall Street Journal wrote about Negroponte's Iraq appointment under the heading Modern Proconsul. In Honduras, Negroponte was known as 'the proconsul', a title given to powerful administrators in colonial times." There, he presided over the second largest embassy in Latin America, with the largest CIA station in the world at that time - and not because Honduras was a centrepiece of world power.
Robbins observed that Negroponte has been criticised by human-rights activists for "covering up abuses by the Honduran military" - a euphemism for large-scale state terror - "to ensure the flow of US aid" to this vital country, which was "the base for President Reagan's covert war against Nicaragua's Sandinista government."
The covert war was launched after the Sandinista revolution took control in Nicaragua. Washington's professed fear was that a second Cuba might develop in this Central American nation. In Honduras, proconsul Negroponte's task was to supervise the bases where a terrorist mercenary army - the Contras - was trained, armed and sent to overthrow the Sandinistas.
In 1984, Nicaragua responded in a way appropriate to a law-abiding state by taking its case against the United States to the World Court in the Hague. The court ordered the United States to terminate the 'unlawful use of force' -- in lay terms, international terrorism -- against Nicaragua and to pay substantial reparations. But Washington ignored the court, then vetoed two UN Security Council resolutions affirming the judgment and calling on all states to observe international law.
US State Department legal adviser Abraham Sofaer explained the rationale. Since most of the world cannot be "counted on to share our view", we must "reserve to ourselves the power to determine" how we will act and which matters fall "essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of the United States, as determined by the United States" - in this case the actions in Nicaragua that the court condemned.

So you can expect Negroponte to encourage the AFP when they act as goon squads and that there will be more complaints of human rights groups about the role of the armed forces and police in eliminating activists. Negroponte will encourage state terrorism in the Philippines and this will ensure more military and other aid from the U.S.

Negroponte says US to help rid roots of terrorism in RP
By RODNEY J. JALECOABS-CBN North America News BureauWASHINGTON D.C. - A ranking US official reiterated that America is in for the long-haul to weed out the threat of terrorism in the Philippines.Addressing officials and guests at the vin d'honneur for the 110th anniversary of Philippine Independence here last Thursday, Deputy State Secretary John Negroponte cited the "extraordinary bonds" between the Philippines and US."We built a relationship based on commitment to democracy, strong people-to-people ties, commercial exchanges and cooperation in security affairs," he declared.He noted that the Philippines is home to one of the biggest American communities overseas. The State Department estimates there are 130,000 Americans living or working in the Philippines.By the same measure, there are 2.5 million Filipino-Americans residing in the US, he said."We work hard to ensure these human ties lead to greater bilateral understanding," Negroponte said."It is important to understand that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the United States military work together not only in defending our peoples from terrorists but also in building conditions that allow people to live in peace," he stressed.Negroponte was ambassador to Manila in 1993-96. He was also the permanent US representative in the United Nations and later became the first Director of National Intelligence.Philippine Ambassador Willy Gaa said the elevation of the Philippines to "compact" status by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) marked a "new frontier" in relations between the two countries."This emphasizes the confidence of the US in our country and in the ability of our people and leaders to fight poverty and create sustainable growth," he said.The Philippines moved from "threshold" status to "compact eligible" after overcoming corruption concerns and meeting MCC standards on three broad parameters. This would open up hundreds of millions of dollars in possible aid for Philippine poverty-alleviation projects."As we move forward as a nation," the country's chief envoy averred, "there will be differences in opinions and concerns.""But we will continue to debate our differences peacefully and with respect. We will remain united in the pursuit of greater good for our people. I am confident that, together, we can do even more," Gaa stressed.He also cited Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, for his Philippine Independence Day message. In a letter last Friday, Gaa thanked "the Senator's warm wishes and call to the US Congress to pass the Veterans Benefits Enchancement Bill (which contain the equity provisions for Filipino World War II veterans)"."It is quite evident Senator Obama has a very good understanding of the historical foundations of strong Philippine-US relations and the valuable contributions made by the millions of Filipino immigrants to the United States," Gaa declared.Negroponte suggested that relations between the two countries can only grow in the years ahead. On the economic front, he said the American investors are active in the energy, semi-conductor, electronics and food and beverage sectors.The Peace Corps, he added, has already sent over 8,000 volunteers to the Philippines. They are spread all over the archipelago, working as teachers, farm technicians and workers in other technology extension activities. He noted that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) provides about $80 million a year - more than half going to Mindanao."The US signed a $190 million pledge last September for an agreement that will bring further economic growth to Mindanao," Negroponte said.He enumerated other US commitments, including the Philippine Defense Reform program, which aims to improve capabilities of the AFP.

Retired Philippine general and his wife refused entry to the US

This is old news but shows how the US fights the war with terror and uses its terror list. Jarque's crime is to act as advisor to the NDF (National Democratic Front) which was trying to negotiate a peace agreement with the Philippine Govt. and the NPA (New People's Army). The guy must be about eighty and has been to the US before many times.

Friday, September 23, 2005
Ex-general, wife refused entry in US, return to RP

MANILA -- Retired General Raymundo Jarque and wife Ma. Zenia will be escorted back to the Philippines after they were temporarily detained and denied entry by US immigration officials in Texas, USA.

The Jarques were detained last September 20 upon their arrival at the Dallas International Airport via Korean Airlines flight from Manila.

They are escorted back by Consul General to Los Angeles Marciano Paynor Jr. and are scheduled to arrive in Manila at 10:50 p.m. Friday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) aboard Korean Air Flight 621. They will have a brief stopover in Los Angeles before proceeding to Manila.

"General Jarque and his wife were detained and denied entry to the US due to (his) inclusion in the US terrorist watch list because of his prior affiliation with the National Democratic Front (NDF)," Paynor said in a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The couple went to the US to visit their daughter Melissa Cunanan, who lives in Irving, Texas.

Paynor said he was able to speak with Jarque on the evening of September 20 over his request for assistance with the consulate and the Philippine embassy in Washington DC.

According to Paynor, the consulate coordinated with lawyer Arlene Macchetta of Houston for possible legal assistance or advice, which Cunanan may avail of in case she wanted to secure the release of her parents.

However, the Jarque spouses had decided to sign papers for their immediate return to the Philippines and that they are no longer interested in challenging the decision of the US immigration authorities in Dallas.

They were immediately transferred to another facility in preparation for their return to the Philippines as Dallas immigration has no detention facility within the airport premises. (ECV/Sunnex)


(September 23, 2005 issue)