A U.S. Marine accused of strangling and drowning a transgender Filipino in a motel-room toilet has triggered a public uproar in the Philippines, reviving sensitive memories of past incidents involving American service members and undermining the Pentagon’s drive to expand its military presence in the region.
The killing Saturday of the 26-year-old Filipino, Jeffrey Laude, who dressed as a woman and called herself Jennifer, has emerged as a test of Washington’s push to send more troops to the southeast Asian country for joint exercises and temporary deployments. It comes six months after President Barack Obama visited Manila to sign a deal to expand military cooperation with the Philippines.
The Philippine National Police have identified the suspect in the slaying as a Marine private first class, Joseph Scott Pemberton, who was among 3,500 U.S. sailors and Marines visiting the Philippines for a joint exercise.
Marine officials have not confirmed Pemberton’s identity but said they are holding the suspect aboard the USS Peleliu, an amphibious assault ship docked in Subic Bay.
According to Philippine authorities, Pemberton was on shore leave Saturday night in Olongapo City, about 50 miles northwest of Manila, when he befriended two young Filipino women at a disco bar called Ambyanz.
Together, the three checked into a motel, the Celzone Lodge. Shortly before midnight, Laude asked the other Filipino, who went by the name Barbie, to leave “before the foreigner could discover that both were gays and transgender,” according to a statement issued Wednesday by the Philippine National Police.
Soon afterward, witnesses reported seeing the foreigner leave. A motel clerk inspected the room, thinking the occupants had left, and found Laude’s body slumped next to the toilet, according to police.
Police said the motel clerk and Barbie both later identified Pemberton from a photo lineup. Philippine authorities said prosecutors were preparing to file charges against Pemberton, a move that probably will set off a battle over whether he will be handed over to the Philippines to face justice or remain in U.S. military custody.
Pemberton, who is from New Bedford, Mass., enlisted in the Marine Corps last year and serves as an anti-tank missileman, according to the Marine Corps Times. He is a member of the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Marine officials said they were fully cooperating with Philippine officials and noted that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS, was working on the case alongside local police.
Chuck Little, a spokesman for Marine Corps Forces Pacific, based in Hawaii, said he could not confirm the suspect’s identity until charges are filed. He said the NCIS was questioning other Marines as potential witnesses. Police in the Philippines said they have no other suspects.
In a reflection of the potential ramifications of the case, Adm. Samuel Locklear, the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, ordered that three Navy warships docked at Subic Bay for the exercises remain in port until the investigation is completed, Navy and Marine officials said. The annual exercise, known as PHIBLEX, or Philippines-U.S. Amphibious Landing Exercise, began Sept. 29 and ended Saturday.
“There’s a great sense of gravity over what happened,” said Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary.
Locklear was in the Philippines on Tuesday for previously scheduled talks with the chief of the Philippine armed forces, Gen. Gregorio Catapang. Afterward, Catapang said, “This will not affect our relationship with the United States,” but he added that the victim “is still a Filipino, and we have to fight for his rights and for justice.”
