Tag Archives: Jennifer Laude

[Statement] 𝑨𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑱𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 -KILUSAN

Posted on by Leave a comment

𝑨𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑱𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

Regional Trial Court Branch 74 of Olongapo City granted Joseph Pemberton’s petition to be released because he has served his ten-year sentence in just 5 years and 8 months, including 1 year and 5 weeks of his preventive detention. The court, without factual and reasonable basis and without recommendation by proper authority, awarded Pemberton the privilege of good conduct time allowance (GCTA).

We, belonging to Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KILUSAN), strongly denounce the de facto commutation of Pemberton’s sentence. This is another grave injustice to the Filipino people and another travesty of Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction.

Pemberton is not an ordinary American citizen who killed Jennifer Laude on October 11, 2014. He was a lance corporal of the US Marine Corps and thus represents the US military and state. His status and the circumstance of his presence in the Philippines then were covered and justified under the US-RP Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

He was preventively detained first inside US Navy ship USS Peleliu and later, after being charged with murder on December 15, 2014, was transferred to a US facility inside Camp Aguinaldo, the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He was convicted for homicide, not murder, on December 1, 2015. Though a national prisoner under the supervision of the Bureau of Corrections, he remained confined in the comforts of the same US facility. His close-in guards are US soldiers, his perimeter guards are Filipino soldiers.

With privileged condition of his confinement, Pemberton should not be granted the privilege of GCTA which is reserved for convicts serving time in real jails.

The same RTC Branch that convicted him for homicide, instead of murder, has committed another injustice to the Filipino people, especially to prisoners who are really qualified for GCTA.

Furthermore, with Duterte’s suspension of the termination process of the VFA, the privileged release of Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton is another hallmark of Philippines’ subservience to the US.

No to Pemberton’s release. He must serve his time inside the national penitentiary!
Terminate the US-RP Visiting Forces Agreement!

Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KILUSAN)
September 2, 2020
#JusticeForJenniferLaude
#ScrapVFA

Submit your contribution online through HRonlinePH@gmail.com
Include your full name, e-mail address, and contact number.

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos, etc

[Press Release] Women Condemn Olongapo Court Order to Release Pemberton -WMW-Pilipinas

Posted on by Leave a comment

Women Condemn Olongapo Court Order to Release Pemberton

The World March of Women – Pilipinas, Ganda Filipinas and the lawyer of Jennifer Laude’s family underscored the irony of the court order to release US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton when the country is about to commemorate the removal of the US bases.

“The 16th of September 1991 was a proud moment in our history as a sovereign nation,” according to WMW – Pilipinas. Even after the urging of then President Corazon Aquino to renew the RP-US Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace, twelve (12) senators rejected the proposed agreement which would have given another 10 years to American control over Subic Naval Base. This year’s commemoration of that historic event will now be marred by the recent hasty decision of the Olongapo regional trial court to release Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton owing to his alleged ‘good conduct’ without having fully served his sentence.

This puts into question our government’s ability to defend its own citizens vis-à-vis foreign power in our own territory, according to the feminist grassroots movement, WMW-Pilipinas.

On December 1, 2015, Pemberton was sentenced from six (6) to twelve (12) years in prison for homicide after killing transwoman Jennifer Laude on October 11, 2014, with Laude’s non-disclosure of her gender identity supposedly a mitigating factor. He has been serving this sentence in a private facility within Camp Aguinaldo and not in National Bilibid Prison where individuals who committed such crime should be. This facility is supposedly under the jurisdiction of the US government through the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) passed by the Philippine Senate in 1999 and operationalized in 2014 when President Benigno Aquino III signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

“That the Motion for Release based on alleged good conduct was filed only in July 2020, the hearing on the motion happening on August 26th, and the order for release given on September 1st while Laude’s lawyer, Virginia Lacsa Suarez, was only about to file her opposition, clearly shows how fast our own court and agencies, namely the Bureau of Correction which endorsed the motion, can act in the service of a foreign power and not in the interest of the Filipino people,” said Ana Maria Nemenzo, National Coordinator of WomanHealth Philippines.

For Laude’s family and lawyer, what happened is clearly an injustice. “The Order of Release has no material basis at all. By his own motion, and invoking the VFA, he was already given the privilege of serving his sentence solo and comfortably in a specially-made facility in Camp Aguinaldo. Thus, his conduct was never put to test as he has never joined other convicts. Good conduct is not a matter of right. It is a privilege subject to the presentation of proof and recommendation of actual good conduct. Otherwise, this is subject to abuse and can be circumvented easily,” said lawyer Suarez.

Jean Enriquez, Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking of Women-Asia Pacific (CATW-AP) said that “This court order will dissuade victim-survivors of violence among us from pursuing justice, since privileged perpetrators will be protected in Camp Aguinaldo and their sentence commuted.” For the victim-survivors of violence and the LGBTQIA+ community, that perpetrators like Pemberton could evade our own laws further instills uncertainty and doubt if they can achieve justice.

“This is a tragic reminder of how little trans lives truly matter not only in the US but as well as in its former colonies,” said Naomi Fontanos, Executive Director of Gender and Development Advocates (GANDA) Filipinas. “It is ironic that Pemberton’s early release is happening at a time when the US is going through a reckoning with its racist history,” Fontanos lamented. “Pemberton’s early release is proof of the power of white supremacy institutionalized through America’s imperialistic military that has destroyed the many lives of people of color including the lives of trans women of color like Jennifer Laude,” she further said. “Pemberton & the violent military institution he represents should be reminded that without justice, there will be no peace,” added Fontanos.

“Pemberton’s early release is an injustice to Jennifer Laude, to the women, LGBTQIA+, and allies, who fought tooth and nail for his conviction,” echoed Judy Afan Pasimio of LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights). “This is evidence that the government’s exclamations against the US and the VFA are hollow and will protect no Filipino women against abuse and crime from foreign visitors,” Pasimio said.

“Such infringement on our sovereignty can only be prevented if we reject treaties such as the Visiting Forces Agreement that continually allows powers like the United States to have their way in our own land,” declared WMW-Pilipinas.

According to the women and trans groups, such travesty of justice against the LGBTQIA+ community and victim-survivors of sexual assault, rape, and other forms of violence can only be stopped if our courts and the government uphold the law to genuinely protect them from perpetrators and criminal.

Other members of WMW-Pilipinas include Bagong Kamalayan Prostitution Survivors’ Collective, Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), Foundation for Media Alternative (FMA), KAISA KA, Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK), Partido Manggagawa – Women, SARILAYA, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) – Women, Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau (WLB).

The groups will hold an online rally tomorrow, September 4, 2020 at 3-4PM to protest the fast-tracked release order in favor of the convicted killer of transwoman Jennifer Laude.

It will be aired on the facebook pages of World March of Women – Pilipinas, GANDA Filipinas, Justice for Jennifer Laude, CATW-AP, LILAK, Youth and Students Advancing Gender Equality (YSAGE) and others.

Contact Persons:
Naomi Fontanos, 09266700411
Jean Enriquez, 09778105326

Submit your contribution online through HRonlinePH@gmail.com
Include your full name, e-mail address, and contact number.

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos, etc

[Statement] Pahayag ng True Colors Coalition (TCC) sa maagang pagpapalaya kay US military serviceman Joseph Pemberton mula sa pagkakakulong

Posted on by Leave a comment

Pahayag ng True Colors Coalition (TCC) sa maagang pagpapalaya kay US military serviceman Joseph Pemberton mula sa pagkakakulong

“𝘼𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙥𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙖 𝙠𝙖𝙮 𝙅𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙥𝙝 𝙋𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞 𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙜 𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙖𝙜-𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙮 𝙨𝙖 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤 𝙂𝘾𝙏𝘼. 𝙄𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙮 𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙬𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙜 𝙠𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙮𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙝𝙖𝙣, at 𝙨𝙖 𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞 𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙣𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙮𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙣 𝙣𝙜 𝙐𝙎 𝙖𝙩 𝙋𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙨.”

Sa sentensyang iginawad kay Pemberton na sampung taong pagkakakulong, ni minsan hindi siya dinala sa National Bilibid Prison kung saan dapat nakakulong ang sinumang nababaan na ng hatol sa krimeng kanilang ginawa. Simula’t simula pa lamang si Pemberton ay ipinuwesto sa isang pasilidad na idineklarang kustodiya ng US, kung atin pang babalikan, mas maaga pang yugto ng kaso ay ginagamit na ng US ang Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) upang makuha ang kustodiya kay Pemberton. Iwinawasiwas ng US hanggang ngayon ang kanilang pagkubabaw sa atin gamit ang mga di-pantay na kasunduan at ginagamit ito upang tuluyang bawiin ang tagumpay ng ating hanay sa laban para sa hustisya kay Jennifer Laude.

Hindi natin dapat kalimutan na sa ginawang pagpatay kay Jennifer Laude at sa buong proseso ng ating paglaban upang makamit ang hustisya, kumatawan ito sa ating laban bilang isang soberanong bayan na patuloy na kinukubabawan ng US at itinuturing na kolonya. Huwag nating hayaan na ang ating laban para sa katarungan kay Jennifer Laude ay mabawi sa atin.

Sa halip na siya ay palayain ng maaga, mas nararapat na siya ay dalhin sa National Bilibid Prison at doon niya ganap na i-serve ang sentensya sa kanya. Siya ay nagkasala sa ating bansa, nilitis sa ilalim ng ating batas, nahatulan, at dapat niya itong pagbayaran ng nasa ilalim ng ating kustodiya.

Hinahamon ng buong True Colors Coalition (TCC) ang gubyernong Duterte, tindigan ninyo ang laban na ito ng sektor ng LGBTQ at ng buong mamamayan para sa katarungan kay Jennifer Laude. Patunayan ninyo ang pagiging isang soberanong bansa ng Pilipinas.

IGIIT ang ating Soberanya, IKULONG si Pemberton sa Bilibid, at IBASURA ang VFA-EDCA!

Tungkol sa TCC:
Ang TCC ay isang pulitikal na organisasyon ng mga LGBT activist na nauna nang sumama sa malawakang protesta noong 2014 laban sa madugong pagpatay kay transwoman Jennifer Laude sa Olongapo. Kabilang ito sa kampanyang palakasin ang kilusang LGBT para na karapatan, pagkakapantay pantay at kalayaan. Ang TCC ay bahagi ng network ng PAHRA at iDEFEND.

September 3, 2020

Submit your contribution online through HRonlinePH@gmail.com
Include your full name, e-mail address, and contact number.

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos, etc

 

[Press Release] Advocates, groups clamor for justice for Jennifer Laude on the eve of her 4th death anniversary -DAKILA

Posted on by Leave a comment

Advocates, groups clamor for justice for Jennifer Laude on the eve of her 4th death anniversary

Photo by Dakila

Quezon City, Philippines – Led by Dakila through Active Vista, and Youth Against Sexual Harassment (YASH), various organizations and advocates gathered on October 10, Wednesday, at Cine Adarna, UP Film Center, UP Diliman, to commemorate the death of Jennifer Laude on the eve of her 4th death anniversary. UP Film Institute (UPFI), UP Babaylan, Filipino Freethinkers, and LGBTQIA+ community members, allies, and advocates were also present to express solidarity.

The night began with a solemn candle lighting where Laude’s family and friends, and the attendees offered prayers and minutes of silence to remember her. The act also signified support to the campaign against the extreme violence and discrimination that transwomen continue to face around the globe. The attendees further expressed their adamant clamor for justice through signing on a blank board to call for a just, immediate, and final resolution of the Supreme Court for Laude’s case.

“It has been four years after the tragedy but we have to keep talking about this until we achieve the complete justice she [Laude] deserves,” DAKILA Organizing Director and LGBTQIA+ advocate Cha Roque related.

The highlight of the night was the screening and panel discussion of Call Her Ganda, a documentary film by PJ Raval that follows three women — an activist lawyer (Atty. Virgie Suarez), a transgender journalist (Meredith Talusan), and Jennifer’s mother (Julita “Nanay” Laude) — as they galvanize a political uprising, taking on hardened histories of U.S. imperialism, in the pursuit of justice for Laude.

“We are gathered here tonight to make the act of watching a film [an] act of remembering,” UPFI Director Patrick Campos said.

In their opening remarks before the screening, stakeholders related the importance of events and screenings like that of last night’s in the pursuit of justice for Laude, a transwoman supposedly killed by suspect US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton after he found out about former’s sexuality.

“PJ Raval’s Call Her Ganda came at the very crucial time when there is a need to shed light on the plight of LGBT and transwomen here in the Philippines,” YASH President Alex Castro, on the other hand, said.

Roque added, “DAKILA and Active Vista believe that the fight of LGBTQIA+ community is a fight for human rights and should concern us all. May films like Call Her Ganda continue to open our eyes to harsh realities and help us achieve the justice that Jennifer Laude deserves.”

While Call Her Ganda depicted the insidious effects of homophobia and transphobia, it also revealed how U.S. imperialism protects Pemberton from the punishments of his crime.

“While the government has changed hats over these past years, the face of injustice robed in the culture of impunity remains the same. Pemberton, was convicted guilty in 2015 by the Olongapo Trial Court and is incarcerated while waiting for the final resolution for the case still pending in the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Though this is a major victory in the history of cases of aggression by the US in the Philippine territory, the path towards genuine national sovereignty is still miles away. Pemberton is currently being held in a US-guarded camp enjoying benefits that no ordinary Filipino prisoner would ever get,” Active Vista Executive Director Leni Velaso related.

“What we think makes this film, this documentary, very unique, is not only its display of gender issues here in the Philippines, but its masterful display of the intersectionality of gender issues with other issues the Philippines is currently facing such as poverty, machismo, corruption, the inefficiency of the justice system, and, of course, the persistent presence and control of the US over the Philippines,” Castro also added.

In the end, advocates expressed that justice for Laude signifies justice for all LGBTQIA+ community members who suffered from discrimination and hatred because of their sexuality, and justice for all the Filipino people.

“We aim to strengthen the call to end discrimination and violence against women and the LGBT, and of course, to bring justice to all Filipinos, and for us to stand against our oppressors. Justice for Jennifer Laude, justice to all Filipinos!” Castro asserted.

“We are being gathered together tonight to signify our responsibility to embracing our next generation so that we as a people can risen above murderous ignorance, fear, and hatred and so what happened to Ganda [Jennifer Laude] and all the intersectional things that it meant between sexes, between classes, between countries, will never have to happen again,” ended Campos.

Media Contact:
Alyssa Suico
activevista@dakila.org.ph
0917 543 1022

Submit your contribution online through HRonlinePH@gmail.com
Include your full name, e-mail address and contact number.

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[Press Release] Groups, family, advocates commemorate Jennifer Laude’s 4th death anniversary through Call Her Ganda screening -DAKILA

Posted on by Leave a comment

Groups, family, advocates commemorate Jennifer Laude’s 4th death anniversary through Call Her Ganda screening

Quezon City, Philippines – DAKILA through Active Vista and Youth Against Sexual Harassment (YASH) with UP Babaylan and Filipino Freethinkers, shall gather an audience today at Cine Adarna, UP Film Center, UP Diliman, from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, to commemorate the tragic death of transgender Jennifer Laude through the screening of Call Her Ganda, a documentary film by PJ Raval that follows Laude’s case and her family’s pursuit for justice.

With the presence of Laude’s family and friends, LGBTQIA+ community members activists, groups such as UP Babaylan and Filipino Freethinkers, and advocates, a candle lighting shall be held before the screening in remembrance of Laude and in support to the campaign against the extreme violence and discrimination that transwomen face around the globe. A symbolic blank board will also be hung in front of the doors of the theater for the audience to show their solidarity by signing their names in calling for the immediate and final resolution of the Supreme Court for Laude’s case. A document translation of this act will be submitted to the Supreme Court.

After the screening, Atty. Virgie Suarez, Laude family lawyer; Naomi Fontanos, LGBT advocate; Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, producer, CALL HER GANDA; and Malou Laude, Jennifer’s sister; will be present for a panel discussion.

“In these times when the members of LGBTQIA+ community still suffer from discrimination, hatred, inequality, and persecution, films like Call Her Ganda show the need for our society to be more engaged in discourses tackling LGBTQIA+ rights,” Active Vista Executive Director Leni Velasco said.

Call her Ganda follows a cast of willful women as they take on some of the most powerful institutions in the world. Fusing personal tragedy, human rights activism and the little known history, and complex aftermath, of U.S. imperial rule in the Philippines, the film forges a visually daring and profoundly humanistic geopolitical investigative exposé.

In 2014, Laude was killed in a motel room in Olongapo supposedly after the suspect 19-year old US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton found out that Laude was a transgender. Laude’s unjust and tragic death ignited the discussion of transgender rights in the Philippines and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between United States of America (USA) and the Philippines. The involvement of US Marine Pemberton pressed the Filipino people to call for the Philippine government to repeal the VFA between the US and the Philippines, a vital force that protects Pemberton from the due consequences of his actions. The VFA ensures Pemberton, and all US soldiers in the Philippines, are under US jurisdiction throughout their time outside American territory.

“[Call Her Ganda] is a protest against the extreme violence and discrimination that transwomen face around the globe. It is a tribute to the 3.4 million Filipinos living in the U.S. and diaspora.“ Raval said.

While the government has changed hats over these past years, the face of injustice robed in the culture of impunity remains the same. Pemberton, was convicted guilty in 2015 by the Olongapo Trial Court and is incarcerated while waiting for the final resolution for the case still pending in the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Though this is a major victory in the history of cases of aggression by the US in the Philippine territory, the path towards genuine national sovereignty is still miles away. Pemberton is currently being held in a US-guarded camp enjoying benefits that no ordinary Filipino prisoner would ever get.

“It has been almost three years since the Olongapo Regional Trial court gave the decision to convict and incarcerate U.S. Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton. This victory is a first in the history of human rights violations since the US military presence in the country through the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). But since then, Jennifer’s case has been pending in the Supreme Court,” Velasco related.

In the eve of Laude’s 4th death anniversary, DAKILA, Active Vista, Youth Against Sexual Harassment (YASH), UP Film Institute, along with UP Babaylan, and Filipino Freethinkers call for the just, immediate, and final resolution of the Supreme Court to finally close this dark chapter for Jennifer and the Laude family.

Velasco added, “Many drastic changes have already taken place in our government and country. Justice and accountability for the crime against Jennifer has been long overdue.”

“LGBTQIA+ rights are human rights. It should be upheld, promoted, and protected at all times,” she concluded.

Media Contact:
Alyssa Suico
activevista@dakila.org.ph
0917 543 1022

Shara Landicho
yashorgph@gmail.com
+63 917 900 2080

DAKILA is a group of artists, students, and individuals committed to working together to creatively spark social consciousness formation towards social change.

Learn more at dakila.org.ph and facebook.com/Dakila.Philippines

ACTIVE VISTA is a human rights education platform to empower audiences in bringing about relevant social change. By showing and creating films that address core human rights messages, it aims to stir critical thinking among its audience as a step towards their education as citizens.

Learn more at facebook.com/ActiveVista

Youth Against Sexual Harassment (YASH) is a non-stock, non-profit, and politically-unaffiliated women’s organization that aims to combat sexual harassment, and other forms of abuse against women.. Learn more at facebook.com/yashorgph/

Submit your contribution online through HRonlinePH@gmail.com
Include your full name, e-mail address and contact number.

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[Campaign] support Justice for Jennifer Laude campaign -Kilusan

Posted on by Leave a comment

Justice for Jennifer

Dear Friends,

One year and almost two months after transwoman Jennifer Laude was murdered by US Marine LCPL Joseph Scott Pemberton in Olongapo,Judge Roline Jabalde is expected to rule on the case come December 1 at the Olongapo Regional Trial Court.

Tru colors

As freedom-loving Pinoys await the outcome, we want the clamor for justice for our slain sister and kababayan to be heard clearly.

It is vital that Pemberton’s conviction will result in spending time behind Philippine prison,unlike now where he is guarded in a US facility embedded in a Philippine military base.

Anything short of this will undermine the outcome of the case.

We want you to be part of this historic decision.

Here is what you can do:

1. Pagkakaisa ng Kababaihan, True Colors Coalition, and Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya will be holding coordinated action in Olongapo and Manila on the morning of December 1.
If you/ your group wish to participate please contact Dj (0932 2959862 or09278163064) for the Manila action or Jhay (09167171398) for the Olongapo action.

2. Organize other support activities to highlight the activity.

3. Take advantage of the coming long weekend and the Bonifacio Day holiday and simultaneously go online in support of Jennifer Laude and the Filipino’s call for Justice like using the hashtags

​(We include a photo which you can upload to any social media account you have: FB, IG, TWITTER, TUMBLR, etc)​:
‪#‎JusticeForJenniferLaude‬
‪#‎ConvictPemberton‬
‪#‎IkulongSaPilipinas‬

4. Support the thunderclap initiative:

http://thndr.me/MwmXlM

How to support:
1. Click the link
2. Click support with Facebook (for FB users), support with Twitter (for twitter users), support with tumblr (for tumblr users)
3. Use the three hashtags [see above] to personalize your posts
4. Share the link [copy the instructions]

This is our last hurrah before the Promulgation Day on December 1. Let’s all work together so justice will prevail.

Thank you!

Dj Janier

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[Statement] On Jennifer Laude’s 27th Birthday: Let JUSTICE be our gift to Jennifer! -True Colors Coalition

Posted on by Leave a comment

On Jennifer Laude’s 27th Birthday: Let JUSTICE be our gift to Jennifer!

Today, as we observe Jennifer Laude’s 27th birthday, True Colors Coalition is one with the family in continuously demanding for Justice for Jennifer Laude. We are just more than a month away from the promulgation and we want the court and the Philippine government to know that we are expecting for Joseph Pemberton’s conviction – Let JUSTICE be our gift to Jennifer Laude!

Tru colors

The deportation decision is only a proof that Pemberton has done terrible things in the country but we must continue to be vigilant until decision is released come December, justice is served and Pemberton pays for the life he had stolen.

Also, we do not forget that Jennifer’s murder is a result of the continuous military presence in our country. The unrelenting presence of the US military forces in the country continues to put women, LGBTs, and children at risk and vulnerable to physical and sexual violence.

We do not want more victims.

Thus, with our clamor for justice, TCC is also calling for the abolition of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and rejection of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Our sister’s death means continuing our community’s struggle. We will not stop until the day JUSTICE is served. The LGBT community is united in demanding for justice for Jennifer Laude and the Filipino people.

​STATEMENT
November 4, 2015
Reference: Jhay de Jesus, Spokesperson (09167171398)

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[Press Release] Women and LGBT groups pressed for PH custody over Pemberton

Posted on by Leave a comment

Women and LGBT groups pressed for PH custody over Pemberton

Women’s groups issued a joint statement in December 17, 2014 Wednesday, pressing for Philippine custody over Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton, in the face of the US government’s demand to retain custody of the accused. The arrest warrant was issued by an Olongapo City court on Tuesday in connection with the killing of Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude. Subsequently, the Department of Foreign Affairs sent the warrant and demand for custody to the US Embassy on the same day.

However, the US, earlier in the day, issued a statement about its “right to retain custody.”

Photo from QC Pride Council

Photo from QC Pride Council

“The issuance of the warrant of arrest is a welcome development,” according to Jelen Paclarin, coordinator of Philwomen on the ASEAN. “However, our government must be firm with its position that the custody must remain with us. Our government must not forget that Jennifer Laude was murdered and her family wants justice,” Paclarin added.

“Murder is an extraordinary case where jurisdiction and custody lie in the Philippines. Even if request is made by the US — since this is murder — request should be denied,” according to lawyer of Laude’s family, Virginia Suarez. “We challenge the Philippine government to assert full jurisdiction over the accused murderer,” added Proleta Nunez of Scrap VFA Coalition. This is the time when the government should stand for the Filipino women and the Filipino people, according to the advocates.

The women are also anxious about the US demand, remembering what happened to the case of US soldier Daniel Smith, accused of raping “Nicole” in 2005. After conviction by a Makati Trial Court and despite rejection of US request by the same court and by the Court of Appeals, law enforcement agencies transferred Smith from the Makati City Jail to the US Embassy, shortly before midnight of Dec. 29, 2006.

“The US government and our government then have been shameless in trampling on our judicial process, our national laws and integrity,” stated Jean Enriquez of the World March of Women – Pilipinas. “The Visiting Forces Agreement never guaranteed protection of our people, much less our women, from transgressions by US military forces,” added Enriquez.

Ging Cristobal of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), calls on all Filipinos “to continue monitoring and to remain vigilant, and hold the Philippine and US governments accountable in ensuring that justice will not be denied to Jennifer.”

Dindi Tan, Board member of the Association of Transgenders in the Philippines (ATP), believe that the Jennifer Laude case dramatically changed the complexion of the national lobby for the enactment of the anti-discrimination bill pending in Congress. “We hope that the case will underscore among legislators the need to immediately decide for the bill,” Tan stated.

Press Release
December 17, 2014

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[Press Release] DFA request for Pemberton custody is pabalat-bunga, lacks weight of a sovereign state – Partido Manggagawa

Posted on by Leave a comment

DFA request for Pemberton custody is pabalat-bunga, lacks weight of a sovereign state – Partido Manggagawa

The Partido Manggagawa (PM) viewed the effort of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to request custody of Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, prime suspect in the killing of transgender woman Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, as insincere or “pabalat-bunga” since pleading for it through a ceremonial letter lacks the weight of a sovereign state.

pmLogo1

“The DFA was basically pleading to get back the sovereignty we lost under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).. And the most stupid thing is to do it now is through a formal request,” said PM spokesman Wilson Fortaleza.

In the first place, Fortaleza argued, the DFA was not expecting US approval of its request because prior to commission of any crime by American soldiers, the government has already agreed to the provision that gave US the right to retain custody of its personnel involved in crimes in Philippine soil.

According to PM, the request was rather intended to pacify growing criticisms over a kind of foreign policy blunder that borders on outright surrender if not patent subservience to a colonial master.

Until said provision is deleted from the VFA, including other devious provisions in favor of US interest, Filipinos cannot expect justice for the likes of Jennifer, and would-be victims of American soldiers in Philippine soil.

PM added that the Philippines can effectively get hold of Pemberton only if it acts like a free nation and its foreign policy presided not by a certified Amboy.

PM, together with other militant groups, is calling for the scrapping of the VFA and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the United States.
PRESS RELEASE
Partido Manggagawa
18 December 2014
Contact: Wilson Fortaleza
09053732185

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[Press Release] Women’s Coalitions Launch 18 Days of Activism against Violence, Declares: WE ARE ALL JENNIFER!

Posted on by Leave a comment

Women’s Coalitions Launch 18 Days of Activism against Violence,
Declares: WE ARE ALL JENNIFER!
November 24, 2014

Photo extracetd from Justice for Jennifer Laude FB page

Photo extracetd from Justice for Jennifer Laude FB page

On the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (VAW), which marks the start of the 18 Days of Activism Against VAW, women’s groups held a press conference and rally in front of the US Embassy. The coalitions announced today that they unite in focusing on the call for justice for Jennifer Laude during this 18-day campaign period which starts on November 25, and will sustain the campaign until justice is served.

“We are all Jennifer!,” declared Jean Enriquez of the World March of Women, in behalf of the other women’s groups and supporting social movements who also participated in a rally in front of the US Embassy. “The commodification, the objectification, the hate crime, the murder of Laude are illustrative of the continuum of violence against women suffered by many women, including trans women,” added Enriquez. She explained how various forms of violence against women, including sexual harassment, physical and economic abuse, rape and others, share the same roots – that of gender inequality, that of keeping women in a subordinated status in society, and are interrelated, sometimes recurring in a woman’s life.

“Jennifer Laude was killed because of her sexual orientation and gender identity – because she is a trans woman,” said Jelen Paclarin, a leader of the Philwomen on ASEAN. Paclarin added that the groups demand the Philippine government, particularly the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), to exhaust all legal measures to ensure that Jennifer’s perpetrator will be punished under Philippine law.

Groups of transgender women highlighted the continuing spate of hate crimes against transwomen, such as the killing of two others in Quezon province, weeks after Laude was killed on October 11, 2014. Naomi Fontanos, Executive Director of GANDA Filipinas, stated that “as long as patriarchal beliefs and attitudes, sexism and machismo exist, there will be more Jennifer Laudes.” She stressed the need to expand anti-violence interventions to address those directed towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Filipinos.

Among the coalitions present is the Scrap VFA Coalition, represented by Proleta Nunez. They underscored that the Visiting Forces Agreement has to go, along with the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the US. “The EDCA, like the military bases agreement, will likely be committing violence against women once it becomes operational,” said Nunez.

The women leaders vowed to be vigilant, especially during the Christmas season, as they remembered how US soldier Daniel Smith, then convicted with rape of a Filipina by a lower court, was transferred to US custody a few days before New Year. In the next 16 days, activities to increase awareness on the Jennifer Laude case, on sexual violence, hate crimes and US militarism, will be held. Among these are:

December 5 – Conversations with LGBT groups
December 8 – Scrap VFA Forum, UP Institute of Human Rights
December 9 – Premiere of Pink Documentary, Trinoma
December 10 – Human Rights Day Rally
December 12 – Trans Film Showing as part of Pink Fest, Trinoma
December 13 – QC LGBT Pride March.

After the press conference, the women leaders, all wearing purple, proceeded to join the 150-strong mobilization that marched along Kalaw St., from Plaza Salamanca in Taft Avenue to the US Embassy. Upon meeting the mobilization, they took off their purple shirts to reveal their red shirts, “symbols of resistance,” with the slogan “We are all Jennifer!,” similar to those worn by the marchers.

Underscoring that US military presence worsens violence against women, the marchers raised crossed arms as act of protest against militarism and gender-based violence. November 24 was also the day that the last soldiers left Subic Naval Base by plane 22 years ago after extension of the bases lease was rejected by the Philippine Senate. However, VFA and EDCA were signed afterwards, which saw the rise in prostitution, rape and other forms of violence in areas opened to US military.

Upon reaching Plaza Ferguson, the women formed a huge human cross to signify that violence against women, hate crimes, and US military presence have no place in their lives as women, in society. “We seek to eliminate hate crimes, we seek to cross out gender-based violence, and we seek to end militarism.”
PARTICIPATING GROUPS:

Association of Transgender People in the Philippines (ATP) • Bagong Kamalayan • Buklod •
Buklod ng Nagkakaisang Kababaihan • CATW-AP • Center for Migrant Advocacy •
Development Action for Women Network • Focus on the Global South • Freedom from Debt Coalition •
GANDA Filipinas • KAISA-KA • Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya •
LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights) • Partido ng Manggagawa • Piglas Kababaihan •
Philwomen on ASEAN • PKKK • Rainbow Rights • SARILAYA • SCRAP VFA • SENTRO •
Women’s Education, Development, Productivity and Research Organization (WEDPRO) •
WomanHealth Phils. • Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau (WLB) • Women’s Crisis Center •
World March of Women – Pilipinas • Youth and Students Advancing Gender Equality (YSAGE)

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[People] Fatal encounter: Jennifer meets US Marine Corps by Walden Bello

Posted on by Leave a comment

Afterthoughts
Fatal encounter: Jennifer meets US Marine Corps
By Walden Bello, INQUIRER.net
October 20, 2014

As I peered at Jennifer Laude’s serene face in the open casket, I saw the wound on her forehead that was barely concealed by the mortician’s make up. I did not see the bruises on her neck and shoulders, but a person familiar with the autopsy said they were severe. “They seemed to have been inflicted by a martial arts move,” said Marc Figueras, a local activist who has been with the Laude family since day one of the tragedy. “That may have been one of the causes of death, along with drowning.”

Walden Bello word.world-citizenship.org

A few days earlier, Jennifer, a transgender woman, had been found dead in a hotel room in Olongapo, her face immersed in a toilet bowl. Private Joseph Scott Pemberton of the US Marine Corps was identified as Jennifer’s companion entering the motel room, then leaving the crime scene after about 15-20 minutes.

Walking weapons

Pemberton, it turns out, is scarcely out of the marines’ infamous boot camp, where martial arts skills–lots of it–are drilled into recruits. As a letter from one recruit (reproduced in Hamilton Nolan’s blog linked to the Huffington Post) notes,

“We learn a ton of martial arts, which is technically called MCMAP–Marine Corps Martial Arts Program–but I call it Karate and ninja training, which my DI’s [drill instructors] don’t like one bit. It started with boring punches and kicks, tiger shulman tae kwon do style, but now we’re learning throws, counters, elbows, stomps, bayonet attacks, bayonet defenses, etc. all of which we do at full speed and intensity on each other. (Sometimes with pads but often not). If the DI’s think we’re going easy on each other, they flip a shit.

“The MCMAP shit is incorporated into our PT workouts, one of the best workouts we did was the martial arts conditioning course: 2 minutes of jab straight hook vs. a recruit w a pad throw a recruit over your shoulder, carry them back and forth between 2 cones 30 yards apart somersault (sp?) back and forth 30 yards apartment roundhouse kicks drag a recruit back and forth for 30 yards elbow strikes choke counters knee strikes run 1/2 mile punch blocks/throws crawl (low) in sand for 100 yards body squats run 1/4 mile.”

Need it be said that the enraged Marine that fate brought face to face with Jennifer the night of October 11 at the Celzon Lodge had been trained to be a walking weapon?

Homophobic socialization

There is another thing that boot camp drills into raw recruits: homophobia, and plenty of it. With the repeal of the infamous “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” policy of the Pentagon, discrimination against gays and lesbians is now supposed to be banned in all US armed services, with heavy penalties for violations. But according to the same anonymous recruit’s account, “don’t ask don’t tell…may have been repealed, but the USMC sure hasn’t adapted. We’re called faggots 10-50 times a day… ‘Yeah, you would think that’s a pushup, faggot,’ etc. Any time we fuck something up, the DI’s tell us ‘you stupid fucking thing. That’s more wrong than two boys fucking.’ One captain, when giving an ethics class, and talking about how one mistake can change your life/identity told the entire company ‘you can be a bridge builder your entire life, but you suck one dick and you’re a cocksucker till you die.’”

With thousands of such walking weapons from the most homophobic of America’s armed services prowling Olongapo’s streets on R&R after testosterone-raising military exercises, the murder of Jennifer Laude was an event waiting to happen. The volatile mix of training in the lethal arts and aggressive homophobic socialization was likely to be among the factors that led Pemberton to cross the line from anger to murder that fateful night. And violence such as that meted out to Jennifer is likely to occur again and again, as the US stations more and more troops in our country in pursuit of Washington’s grand geopolitical design to contain China.

A dangerous and useless presence

When we opposed the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the so-called Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), one of our key reasons was to prevent our civilian population from again becoming collateral damage as victims of rape, murder, and hate crimes, as many of them were prior to the withdrawal of the big US bases in 1992.

The rape of Nicole by another US Marine, Daniel Smith, in 2005 confirmed our worst fears. Now an even more brutal crime has taken place. No doubt there will be apologists who will say that the Nicole and Jennifer cases are “isolated incidents,” that these are outweighed by the benefits of the presence of American troops, as Senator Antonio Trillanes IV is supposed to have claimed. Such assertions are increasingly hollow, especially since Washington is not committed to defending our territories in the West Philippine Sea in the first place, since it says it won’t intervene in sovereignty disputes in the Spratlys.

To prevent future incidents, some have proposed tighter regulation of shore leave or more intensive instruction of American troops on the “rules of engagement” with the civilian population. But again, why be satisfied with these half measures when those troops don’t need to be here in the first place since they do not promote our national security.

LGBT Rights

Now people may disagree with me on whether we need a US military presence, but surely there can be no disputing the fact that murder is murder, whether committed by a Filipino or an American, and must be prosecuted with the full force of the law (and here one might note, parenthetically, that Jennifer’s killer is lucky that we don’t have the death penalty unlike in his home country). People may have different attitudes towards LGBTs (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgenders)—in the same way people may have different feelings about people of different races–but surely most would agree that transgenders and other members of that community have fundamental rights that must be upheld. Indeed, I doubt that most of those who have been spewing out derogatory comments about Jennifer in the social media would condone her murder.

That lopsided treaty called the Visiting Forces Agreement permits the US to retain custody of a US soldier charged with a crime while prosecution is ongoing. This will not do. The Philippine authorities should have learned from the Daniel Smith fiasco that allowing the US to keep the suspect is simply a way of keeping him away from our authorities until they can find a way to spirit him out of the country. This time Malacañang must demand the unconditional surrender of Pemberton by US authorities.

There must be zero tolerance for hate crimes and zero tolerance of violations of our national sovereignty.

Read more: http://opinion.inquirer.net/79430/fatal-encounter-jennifer-meets-us-marine-corps#ixzz3GdJYmKIm
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[Statement] On the Killing of Transpinay Jennifer Laude -QCPC

Posted on by Leave a comment

Statement on the Killing of Transpinay Jennifer Laude
Quezon City Pride Council (QCPC)
www.qcpridecouncil.com

Photo from QC Pride Council

Photo from QC Pride Council

Every human life is precious.

Jennifer Laude had lived a life of courage and strength embracing her gender identity as a Woman of Transgender experience. Last Oct 11, 2014, Jennifer was found dead at 11:45PM in a motel room severely beaten before being killed. The autopsy report revealed that she died from “asphyxia by drowning” and that the transgender woman’s body showed contusions and blood clots on the scalp, chest, arms and legs. Police investigators reported that she had cuts and bruising on her head and neck, including a cut on her tongue, bruising around her eyes and cheekbones, and abrasions on her left forearm and right leg. Furthermore, police described the killing as a “crime of hatred,” when the suspect, US Marine Pvt. 1st Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, “discovered that his sex partner was a gay (sic).”

QC Pride Council

A death perpetuated by hate. Hate perpetuated by Transphobia. Transphobia perpetuated by a myriad of issues, including but not limited to ignorance, economic situation, prejudice, and lack of respect.

A senseless ending of a beautiful life. ..

Even more disturbing is the reality that Transgender people lived in. Facing discrimination, prejudice and violence, Transpinays had to go through life risking their lives.

QCPC prides itself as a body that upholds the rights and celebrate the lives of LGBT people. As a steward of human dignity, We envision Quezon City as the most open and welcoming city that protects and promote the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons by promoting cultural, economic, environmental, educational and spiritual events without prejudice and discrimination.

QCPC’s unwavering efforts on education regarding LGBT concepts and issues hopes to combat ignorance and prejudice. Our livelihood programs targeted to LGBT people hopes to alleviate economic gap and lack of access to employment. Lastly, the recently passed Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Bill in Quezon City aims to uphold the individuality and lives of LGBT people.

With QCPC and everyone’s effort we truly hope to live a hate free society that values human dignity and human life. There will be no other Jennifer Laude, no other LGBT persons, Not in Quezon City, not in my beloved country.

ABOUT QCPC

Quezon City Pride Council (QCPC) was constituted to oversee the integration of all city programs and projects for the LGBTs (lesbian, gays, bisexual, and transgender) community. QCPC, created by Mayor Herbert Bautista thru an office order, was formally launched March 25, 2013 to highlight the city government’s continuing support for the implementation and enforcement of gender-based policies, programs and activities.

The QC Pride Council is a pioneering initiative of the QC local government and the first of its kind in the country. Learn More.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[Press Release] Labor party demands turnover of US Marine suspect in transgender killing -PM

Posted on by Leave a comment

Labor party demands turnover of US Marine suspect in transgender killing

Partido Manggagawa (PM) condemns the killing of transgender woman, Jeffrey Serdoncillo Laude a.k.a. Jennifer Laude, allegedly by a US Marine participating in the Balikatan exercise in Olongapo City 11p.m. of October 11.

pmLogo1

PM expressed its readiness to mobilize its women and LGBT members and coordinate with other groups in a fight to seek justice for Laude. The group had also been active in the Nicole Subic rape case campaign.

According to reports, the US embassy had issued a statement assuring its full cooperation with Philippine law enforcement authorities.  The same commitment was expressed by the US government during the hearing of “Nicole” in the Subic rape case, but in the end convicted rapist Daniel Smith was allowed to escape by Philippine authorities in collusion with the US embassy.

“It has been almost three days yet both suspect and probable witnesses remain in the custody of American authorities in Philippines soil,” declared PM Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda. She added that “Similar to our demand during the trial of the Subic rape case, custody of suspect should in the hands of Philippine authorities.”

The group insists that nothing justifies Laude’s killing. “Being gay, hiding the fact that he is gay or being a prostitute does not make Laude’s killing right,” Miranda ended.

PM once more called for the repeal of the Visiting Forces Agreement under whose provisions the Balikatan exercises are conducted. “This recent incident again exposes that the VFA does not provide protection for Filipinos whose civil and social rights may be violated by US soldiers and moreover ties the Philippines to the imperialist agenda of the American government,” Miranda explained.

She furthered that ”We have nothing to gain and more to lose from allowing US soldiers, ships and planes to base in Philippine territory. An independent foreign policy is our best defense against external threats even against China’s claims on disputed islands.”

PARTIDO MANGGAGAWA
Press Release
14 October 2014
Contact Judy Ann Miranda @ 09175770777

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.