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| (NY Daily News) |
But much has changed, on both sides of the Pacific. In November 2011, then-U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton announced a U.S. “pivot toward Asia,” and while Filipinos, wary of Chinese intentions in Southeast Asia, have nervously welcomed the extended relations, it is the U.S. that needs Philippine cooperation right now. Together with the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), new protocols promise to extend joint training exercises like the one that brought PFC Pemberton and the U.S.S. Peleliu to Subic this October. Activists have challenged the EDCA in the Philippine Supreme Court, and protestors urge the government to “Junk the VFA,” but the VFA probably isn’t going anywhere and the number of U.S. service personnel in country is likely only to increase.
Charging Pemberton in a Philippine court is an important first step. But if he is convicted, he should face justice there as well. A decade ago, after the “Nicole” trial, U.S. officials whisked Daniel Smith out of the country, and recent protestors in Olongapo bearing placards reading “Don’t let Pemberton become another Smith!” have not forgotten that. Nor should Americans. The U.S. cites the VFA while insisting on custody of Pemberton. But although Article V of the VFA allows the U.S. to claim custody, it does not require it to do so, especially if the Philippines requests custody and jurisdiction. Stubbornness and legalism will only confirm Filipinos’ worst suspicions, and will do little to bring Laude’s killer to justice.
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