There have been mutiple developments in the Jennifer Laude case since my last update, so let me catch you up with what's happening. First up are the ongoing protests demanding that PFCf Joseph Pemberton, the accused killer of Laude be turned over to Philippine authorities to ensure justice for Jennifer.
And yes, there is a precedent for the US military turning its personnel who have committed crimes in host nations to those nations to face justice there. Two US sailors were handed over to Japanese authorities in 2013to be prosecuted for the robbery and rape of a woman on Okinawa.
I'm definitely down with that program because if Pemberton did the crime on Philippine soil and killed a Filipina citizen, he needs to be tried for it on Philippine soil.
Pemberton was formally charged on Wednesday with Laude's murder as US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: “We will continue to cooperate fully with the Philippine law enforcement authorities in every aspect of the investigation.”
Pink News is reporting that Senator Bam Aquino is now calling for the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Act of 2014 in the wake of Jennifer's murder and a rise in anti-TBLG crimes.
“We should impose heavier penalties so that these discriminatory and inhumane acts will be eradicated.”said Sen. Aquino. He pointed out Laude's murder was not an isolated case, and that action needed to be taken to halt that rise n hate crimes.“This number will continue to rise unless we do something about it immediately,” he added.
Under the new bill, persons found guilty would be fined from P100,000 ($2230) to P500,000 ($11,151) and could potentially face imprisonment of up to 12 years.
Stay tuned, because there are lots of interesting developments that are flowing from the senseless murder of our transpinay sister.
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