MANILA, Philippines–“News not quite right,” US Ambassador to
the Philippines Philip Goldberg said Sunday, referring to reports that the
United States would produce a US Marine suspected of killing a transgender
Filipino and four other servicemen wanted as witnesses by investigators.
Goldberg tweeted that under the bilateral Visiting Forces
Agreement (VFA), the United States will make the suspect available, but whether
the suspect appears in court is for his lawyer to decide.
“We continue to fully cooperate and collaborate with
Philippine authorities in all aspects of the case concerning the death of
[Jeffrey “Jennifer”] Laude,” he said.
Goldberg said the United States would continue to work
closely with the Philippine government “to ensure justice is served and the
rights of all persons are protected.”
He said the VFA made possible “close coordination between
the United States and Philippine authorities in investigating Jennifer Laude’s
case.”
In a statement issued Sunday, the US Embassy said four
witnesses gave statements to Philippine prosecutors in the case involving the
killing of Laude.
“Last week, city prosecutors met with four witnesses and
swore them to their statements in accordance with Philippine law,” the embassy
said.
The embassy cited this as another sign of its continued
cooperation in the controversial case.
“The witnesses will be made available for the trial,” the
statement said.
Subpoena served
Olongapo City Prosecutor Emelie de los Santos and Eduardo de
Vega of the legal department of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) handed
a subpoena to US Embassy officials in Manila on Friday for the appearance of
Pemberton and the four other Marines in the preliminary investigation on
Tuesday.
But the embassy said the four other Marines would no longer
have to appear on Tuesday as their statements had already been obtained.
It stressed that “whether the suspect will appear on Tuesday
is a decision that he will make in consultation with his Philippine legal
counsel, in accordance with Philippine law.”
Asked whether the four witnesses were still in the
Philippines, US Embassy spokesman Kurt Hoyer replied: “They are not here
anymore.”
Source: www.inquirer.net
No comments:
Post a Comment