'Justice for Jennifer': Protests Sweep Philippines Following US Marine's Alleged Murder of Transgend

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http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/10/17/justice-jennifer-protests-sweep-philippines-following-us-marines-alleged-murder



Amid expanding U.S. military presence in Philippines, killing renews calls to expel U.S. troops from the country

'Justice for Jennifer': Protests Sweep Philippines Following US Marine's Alleged Murder of Transgender Woman
Sarah Lazare, staff writer
Friday, October 17, 2014

Protests continue across the Philippines following news of the murder of Jennifer Laude, a transgender Filipina woman, allegedly at the hands of a U.S. marine in Olongapo City. Coming just months after the U.S. signed a controversial pact to boost its military presence in the Philippines, protesters say the killing is stoking deep-rooted anger over the U.S. military's treatment of Philippine civilians and prompting renewed calls to boot U.S. troops from the country.

"We are not only hoping to be able to bring justice to our fellow Filipina, but also to force the U.S. and Philippine governments to rethink their strategy in the region," Joms Salvador, Secretary General of GABRIELA—a Philippine alliance of women's movement organizations—told Common Dreams on Friday over the phone from Manila.

"Here We Go Again"

Jennifer Laude, 26 years old, was killed in a Olongapo City hotel room on October 11, with signs that she may have been beaten and strangled. Philippine police on Wednesday charged a U.S. marine, Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, with the murder. Pemberton was one of 3,500 U.S. military service members taking part in a joint military exercise with the Philippines.

U.S. military officials, who have not publicly confirmed or denied Pemberton's identity, say that a marine under investigation is currently being held by the U.S. military on the USS Peleliu, an amphibious vessel currently in the Subic Bay free port northwest of Manila.