Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman has claimed that a decision to pardon a U.S. marine who killed a Filipino transgender woman was made to ensure access to a possible coronavirus vaccine being developed by the U.S.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, who formerly worked as a lawyer for the family of the victim, Jennifer Laude, said on Thursday that he had no problem with Duterte’s decision when asked to give his personal view on the matter.
“There are more important national interests that the president needs to protect,” Roque said.
“In my personal opinion, the decision to grant pardon to [Joseph Scott] Pemberton was made out of the president’s desire to ensure that once a vaccine is developed in the U.S. the Philippines will also benefit from it,” Roque said.
Pemberton’s release order was signed by the Bureau of Corrections on Thursday and he was expected to be turned over to the Bureau of Immigration for deportation by the weekend, officials said.
The U.S. marine was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2015 for the killing of Laude, who was found strangled in a motel bathroom in Olongapo City, 90 Kilometres north of Manila, in October 2014.
Laude’s family, some politicians and activists groups have criticised the pardon, denouncing it as a “despicable and shameless mockery of justice, and servility to U.S. imperialist interests.”
So far, the Philippines has 248,947 confirmed coronavirus infections, with the Department of Health reporting 3,821 new cases on Thursday.
The death toll also rose to 4,066, up by 80, according to the department.
