(Eagle News) — US Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton will face court martial proceedings in the United States.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said this was what US authorities said during Pemberton’s pre-trial over the Laude killing in 2014.
“Pag-uwi raw po ni Pemberton tuloy pa rin ‘yung kanyang court martial proceedings at doon po malalaman kung meron pang additional na parusang ipapataw sa kanya at yung kanyang qualification to remain in service,” Roque said in a televised briefing.
Roque made the revelation a day after Pemberton’s deportation.
The Bureau of Immigration said on Monday the deportation was based on a deportation order issued in 2015 against him over the charges filed against him and his subsequent conviction.
Immigration chief Jaime Morente said Pemberton filed a motion for reconsideration but said this was denied.
Pemberton left for the US days after President Rodrigo Duterte granted him absolute pardon over the killing, saying he had been treated unfairly as authorities did not monitor good conduct time allowance credits that could be credited against the time he was supposed to serve upon conviction.
The President announced the absolute pardon days after the Olongapo court that convicted Pemberton said he should be released as he had already supposedly served more than the 10-year maximum sentence that court imposed and the Court of Appeals subsequently affirmed, GCTA included
According to Roque, with the absolute pardon, whether or not Pemberton was entitled to GCTA was no longer an issue.
He said Pemberton could now be free but his conviction remained.