Various organizations launched a protest to demand justice for transwoman Jennifer Laude killed by an American soldier on October 11, 2014. More than a decade later, meaningful justice remains evasive for Laude’s family. Chapters of Bahaghari led the actions.
US Marine personnel Joseph Scott Pemberton killed Laude in Olongapo City. Pemberton was then in the Philippines to participate in war games conducted under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the US.
Despite having convicted of the downgraded charge of “homicide,” Pemberton was neither imprisoned in the Philippines nor placed under the custody of the Philippine government. Under the VFA, the US has the primary authority to determine his imprisonment, even after his conviction by a Philippine court. Worse, in 2020, the former Duterte regime granted the criminal Pemberton “absolute pardon”, allowing him to return to the US.
Calling for justice, University of the Philippines (UP) students lit candles at their Diliman and Baguio campuses on October 10. They asserted the need to remember Laude, oppose US intervention in the Philippines, and immediately abolish the VFA and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that violate the nation’s sovereignty.
Bahaghari UP Baguio and its partner organizations also held an evening of cultural performances. The group opened the “Say Her Name” Art Exhibit at Museo Kordilyera to introduce and keep alive the memories of vibrant lives stolen by abuse, violence, and death caused by the state. The exhibit remains open from October 15 to 17.
Several groups also marched at Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) on October 10 in a call for justice for Laude. “From cases like Jennifer Laude’s, we see that the US imperialist war machine kills and oppresses members of the LGBTQ+, spreading fear and silencing defiance,” said the League of Filipino Students-Katipunan, one of the groups that participated in the march.
