Her story: Who is Jennifer Laude?

In today’s progressive time where different kinds of love are celebrated, the Philippines was rattled by President Duterte’s decision to grant absolute pardon to US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton, dated September 7, 2020.

Pemberton was convicted of homicide in 2015 for the murder of transwoman Jennifer Laude in October 2014. Six years after Laude’s demise, Pemberton walks free, making headlines and unearthing the nightmares of the now peacefully resting Jennifer. But who is Jennifer Laude and why is her story relevant up to this day?

Born Jeffrey Laude, then 26-year-old Jennifer was described by her friends as someone who was beautiful inside and out. Always full of joy, she was selfless, especially when it came to providing for her family in Leyte. She would often offer her own house to friends who are in need of a place to stay. Her charming personality also helped her get along with anyone she met. It was very evident that Jennifer consistently made an effort to look good, revealing her confidence about who she was as a person.

From the stories of her friends alone, Jennifer seemed to be full of hope as much as she was loved by the people around her. Sadly, a shocking discovery was made on the night of October 11, 2014 — Jennifer was found lifeless in a hotel bathroom in Olongapo City.

Reports found that the transwoman was beaten to death, while the public labeled it as a hate crime against a member of the LGBT community. Since then, the battle for justice did not waver.

December 1, 2015, Jennifer and her family finally got justice when the Olongapo Regional Trial Court (RTC) found Pemberton guilty of homicide and was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. While the family may have achieved justice, the fight was not yet over.

Pemberton continued to appeal his sentence, and was even successful in lowering it down to 10 years in March 2016. Filing numerous motions for reconsideration at the Court of Appeals (CA), he made his last attempt in 2017 where he asked the Supreme Court (SC) to reverse the CA’s decision to deny his motion. Come April 2020, he withdrew his petition from the SC, formally closing and terminating the case in June 2020.

Just as everyone was ready to move forward, the Olongapo RTC ordered Pemberton’s release on September 2, 2020 as his time served and good conduct time allowances equated to over 10 years, cutting his actual sentence four years short. To no avail, Laude’s family immediately filed for a motion for reconsideration the following day, which the Bureau of Corrections recognized, suspending Pemberton’s release. However, days after the motion was filed, the US Marine was granted absolute pardon.

As of this writing, Pemberton has already been deported back to the United States where he is set to face court martial proceedings, Malacañang said. He has also been blacklisted by the Bureau of Immigration and is barred from returning to the Philippines.

The fight for justice has always been an uphill battle. But for Jennifer and her family, it was compromised and short lived. We expect the scales of justice to favor what is right and fair, but for the Laude slay case, it remains a mystery why they tipped the other way.

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