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Pemberton is free and we are again at the losing end again.
The entire incident calls on us to revisit the RP-US VFA and its effects on our sovereignty. We must ensure that there would be no more Pembertons in our land, no more crimes against Filipinos. (Photo from AP).
The entire incident calls on us to revisit the RP-US VFA and its effects on our sovereignty. We must ensure that there would be no more Pembertons in our land, no more crimes against Filipinos. (Photo from AP).
Pemberton was here on the basis of the VFA which allows US soldiers to enter the Philippines for various activities not limited to military exercises. This includes rest and recreation activities and sex tourism.
Because of the VFA, Pemberton enjoyed special privileges even when he was arrested and detained for the killing of Jennifer Laude. He remained effectively under US custody even if his detention facility was inside Camp Aguinaldo.
Never was he placed in a Philippine detention facility. He enjoyed special privileges which are not accorded Filipinos should they commit crimes in the US. It is proof of how unequal RP-US relations are.
When Pemberton was convicted, he was placed in a detention facility constructed specially for him, because under the VFA, detention facilities for convicted US troops must conform to US standards. Despite his conviction, Pemberton did not spend a single day inside a PH prison.
His detention facility was under the supervision of US Marines, and was only made to appear as an extension facility of the Bureau of Corrections. In fact BuCor did not have actual supervision and could not say if Pemberton was indeed eligible for Good Conduct Time Allowance.
Up to the end, Pemberton enjoyed special treatment that highlighted the grossly unequal relations between the US and the Philippines. Pemberton did not apply for pardon but was given an express lane to freedom. He was granted absolute pardon, without him even asking for it.
He boarded a US military plane as he left the country, secured by Philippine authorities and out of sight from ordinary Filipinos.
Rodrigo Duterte once terminated the VFA, for the flimsiest reason of having one of his cohorts being denied a US visa, only to restore the VFA.
Rodrigo Duterte once terminated the VFA, for the flimsiest reason of having one of his cohorts being denied a US visa, only to restore the VFA.
The restoration of the VFA comes after Duterte's phone cal with Trump. The Duterte regime has shown that it is not really separating itself from the US, as the President once claimed in 2016. It remains very much subservient to US dictates. Duterte serves both the US and China.
On Sept 16, we will commemorate the 1991 Senate rejection of the US Military Bases Agreement. Let this shining moment in our nation's history be an inspiration in our efforts to terminate the VFA, defend our sovereignty and restore our national dignity.
#JusticeForJenniferLaude
#JusticeForJenniferLaude
