Senator JV Ejercito called on the National Bureau of Investigation to work hard in providing justice for slain Olongapo native Jennifer Laude.
Ejercito made this statement after the alleged killer of Laude, US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, was transferred to a facility inside the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo earlier today.
“Our government, especially the NBI, should exhaust all efforts to provide justice for Jennifer Laude. We must coordinate with the US Embassy to bring in Pemberton for investigation,”the senator said.
He urged however that we should be careful in dragging the issue of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the crime committed.
“Previously, I had a negative attitude towards the VFA. But this somehow changed after their overwhelming support during the Yolanda tragedy and with the issues surrounding the West Philippine Sea. It somehow provided that as a nation, we can have the presence of the Americans with the VFA,”Ejercito explained.
The senator said it would have been very hard to ignore the US Forces’ support after the onslaught of super typhoon Yolanda. “Thousands more would have perished without their rescue operations,”he added. ###
