MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte must have had some basis for granting an absolute pardon to United States Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton, Justice secretary Menardo Guevarra said.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel on Wednesday, Guevarra said Duterte can freely grant executive clemency even in the absence of an application from a sentenced person, as stated in the Philippine Constitution.
“We have to presume that the President should have some basis in granting that executive clemency,” Guevarra said. “The President must also have some basis in his own mind, in his own judgment as to why he is deciding to grant pardon to anyone.”
“As in the case of Mr. Pemberton, for example, he was aware about the issue surrounding his release so it’s not something like as if it’s so arbitrary, so whimsical, just out of the blue,” he added.
According to the 1987 Constitution, the President may grant reprieves, commutations and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures after conviction by final judgment, except in cases of impeachment or as otherwise provided in the charter.
Pemberton was convicted of homicide over the death of Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude whose lifeless body was found in a motel room in Olongapo City on Oct. 11, 2014.
Pemberton was sentenced to six to 10 years of imprisonment and had served over five years when an Olongapo judge ruled that he was entitled to be released given the GCTAs he supposedly earned on top of his actual time served.
According to the court, Pemberton had served a total of 2,142 days and earned 1,548 GCTAs. Taken together, this amounts to 3,690 days, or 10 years, one month, and 10 days./PN
