FOLLOWING his release from prison, convicted American soldier Joseph Scott Pemberton had been successfully deported.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Pemberton boarded a military aircraft bound for the United States, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, at exactly 9:14 a.m. yesterday (Sunday).
From his detention cell at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Pemberton rode a BI vehicle escorted by US Military and US embassy personnel in Manila. He arrived at the Old Balagbag ramp at 8:37 a.m.
The US C-130 plane with tail number 535 that would take him to his country landed at the NAIA around 8:40 am from Kaneda, Japan and parked at the Old Balagbag as Pemberton waited under the watch of assigned BI personnel.
He then boarded the US military Hercules plane escorted by US military servicemen and immigration personnel and which was bound for Guam. He was relaxed and calm while boarding the military plane.
Pemberton, who made headlines after being convicted of killing transgender Jennifer Laude in Olongapo City in 2014, has likewise been banned from re-entering the Philippines.
Deputy spokesman Atty. Melvin Mabulac explained that Pemberton has been placed in the Bureau’s blacklist since September 16, 2015, when he was ordered deported by the BI’s Board of Commissioners for being an undesirable alien, after being charged for murder, and later being convicted of homicide.
Pemberton reportedly filed a motion for reconsideration in November 2015, which was subsequently denied.
The BI said Pemberton’s continued presence in the Philippines is not conducive “for the safety, welfare, happiness, or good order of Philippine society.”
Mabulac explained that Pemberton’s criminal case is separate from his immigration case and having been found guilty, he was seen as a risk to public safety and has therefore been classified as an undesirable alien and thus included in the blacklist.
The BI ordered Pemberton’s deportation more than three months before the Olongapo court rendered its verdict, which found him guilty of homicide and sentenced him from six to 12 years in prison.
Standard deportation procedures dictate that he should first complete the service of his sentence before the deportation order could be implemented.
Earlier this month, the Olongapo Regional Trial Court approved Pemberton’s release after he was considered to have completed his sentence. Custody was then turned over to the BI on Friday, for the implementation his deportation. President Rodrigo Duterte the granted him absolute pardon.
Reportedly, Pemberton paid the family of Laude P4.6 million (US$94,785) in civil damages.
