Beware the Billy Boy

Hey Joe! Be sure that she isn’t a he. This story provides caveats for all …and then some.

It started innocently enough. An Angeles City Voice reprint of a Philippine Star news article read “Justice Secretary Leila de Lima sees nothing wrong with the reported P21- million settlement offer to the family of slain transgender Jeffery “Jenifer” Laude in a plea bargain deal in the murder case against U.S. Marine PFC Joseph Scott Pemberton.”

I thought I could poke some fun at the shock Western readers might feel about what appears to be open bribery in the Philippine Court system. Actually it’s just business as usual in my adoptive country, and it is a tradition I support. The one unusual aspect was the amount. It is not just high — it is astronomically high. Not that long ago convicted Rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, with the help of the U.S. Gov., bought his way out after three years of soft detention for only P100,000 and a U.S. Visa to the ‘victim’ in exchange for recanting her testimony.

There are many buy out stories; and most cases never make it to Court. Long standing tradition accepts that the family of murdered or assault victims will accept a cash or property settlement not to press charges against the killer. It is also true that in the absence of complainants, the police are unlikely to pursue capital cases except for the most high profile. It is a very humane way of achieving justice and keeps many cases out of the Court system as well as saving a lot of police work. However doing enough research into the Laude case in order to write knowledgeably, opened a can of worms that wouldn’t stop wriggling.

At first the News accounts seemed strait forward enough. In addition to the Philippine Press, The Guardian and Mail Online as well as the New York News have all been following the story as it develops. Despite some contradictions, news accounts provide the following salient facts. While on a drinking spree with some Marine buddies in Olongapo, Nineteen years old Pfc. Pemberton met twenty-six years old “Jennifer” at the Ambyanz disco. Thinking the he was a she, Pemberton agreed to get a room with her at a nearby “hotel” for an amorous encounter. Pemberton left a short time later. The room clerk checked the room and discovered Jennifer partially wrapped in the bed sheet with her face down in the commode of the toilet.

The clerk panicked and notified the local police who pronounced Jennifer strangled to death. A later police coroner’s report indicated death by drowning and noted that lacerations and contusions indicated that Jennifer had been beaten and may have put up a struggle. The room clerk had heard nothing despite the room being right next to the reservations desk. Two condoms were found, one or both of them used. The used condom was tested and found to contain sperm which was not Pemberton’s. It was this last fact that piqued my interest in the case. If the sperm isn’t Pemberton’s, whose is it? A patient search on internet articles was rewarded when I found a VICE in depth investigative report by a transgender Filipino/American. This is the report on which I rely for a deeper understanding in order to shape my own opinion and make recommendations.

Before we go to Vice for the sordid details, we must note that the murder of Laude sparked international coverage and “protests” over the U.S. Military role in the Philippines. The Marine Times expressed the concerns of the U.S. Military and State Department over issues raised by the charges against Pfc. Pemberton; “The incident rippled up the military chain of command on Oct. 12, with top officers warning of trouble with one of the nation’s closest allies in the Region… The consequences could be severe as the U.S. Military carries out its pivot to the Asia/Pacific Region, placing tens of thousands of U.S. troops west And as Philippine politicians consider approving an agreement to allow more American troops to rotate through the country, some there are calling for the deal to be thrown out entirely…the slaying rekindled anti-American sentiment more than two decades after U.S. forces were expelled from Subic bay.”

“Marine and Navy brass confined Marines and Sailors to their ships. A joint investigation was launched between Naval Criminal Investigative Services and the Philippine National Police.”

Meredith Talusan, herself a transgendered Filipino American, writing for VICE Feb 23, 2015, paints a far more detailed and compelling picture. In her report: How the Killing of a Trans Filipina Woman Ignited an International Incident. The first few paragraphs are illuminating.

“On October 11 of last year, the U.S. Marines stationed on USS Peleliu, got their first night of liberty after their Tarawa- class amphibious assault ship docked in Subic Bay…Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, a nineteen year old former professional boxer,… eagerly disembarked with his battle buddies, Bennet Dahl, Daniel Polido, and Jairn Rose. They headed for the Harbor Point Mall; in nearby Olongapo…The group ate a late lunch and shopped at the mall before heading for the narrow streets and looser rules of Magsaysay Drive, a half a mile outside the former base.
“At Ambyanz Night Life, the men found what some of them had been looking for that night.

The club was a frequent hangout for sex workers known as Pocahantases-a riff on Pok Pok a Tagalog word for slut, which also alludes to the former colonizers who often patronize them. The most dogged of these women-those who quickly latch on to the arms of men pouring off the ships-are transgender, but the foreign soldiers seldom learn that. “Filipinos are used to us, so they can sometimes tell,” one trans Pocahontas told me. “Sometimes they try to expose us to the foreign men. So we run.”

“Within a few minutes of meeting, Pemberton and Laude left for the Celzone lodge, a motel across the street, accompanied by Laude’s friend, Bobbie Gelviro. “She never went with a guy alone,” Gelviro said; “She always asked one of us to come with her so we knew where she was.” At the motel Pemberton and Laude booked some room time in Room 1, right next to the reception desk.” …Gelviro stayed with the couple for a minute to help negotiate the rate. Laude suggested 5,000 pesos but Pemberton only wanted to pay 1,000 (about 25 dollars). Laude nervous that Pemberton might discover the girls were Trans because Gelviro didn’t have implants, quickly agreed to the lower rate and rushed her friend out of the room.”

“About thirty minutes after the group had arrived at the Motel, Pemberton walked casually out of his room, leaving the door slightly ajar behind him. He seemed unperturbed as he walked past the front desk.”

Later back at the ship Pemberton told Rose the story of meeting the two “girls” and going to the Motel. “After one of them left, the girl he was still with started to undress. Pemberton said that he saw “it” had a dick.”
“He said he got so angry he chocked “it” from behind. “When the body stopped moving, he dragged “it” into the bathroom and left.”
“I think I killed a he-she;” Pemberton said.”

Back at the motel the receptionist/bellboy discovered the body, and not knowing whether laude was alive or dead, notified Gelviro, and the police. Shortly after the arrival of the police, a team from the Naval Criminal investigative Service (NCIS) showed up even before Pemberton had made his confession to Rose.A police autopsy ruled the cause of death was asphyxia by drowning in the shallow water of the toilet bowl.

“Pemberton was immediately identified as the prime suspect.”

A fire storm of controversy and protests surrounds the case. As per the Visiting Forces Agreement, (VFA), custody remained with the American military. Groups opposed to the VFA and the upcoming Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, (EDCA) united with a transgender rights group GANDA to picket the US Embassy and take additional action.

“Four days after Laude’s death…the family decided to file civil murder charges themselves…The family chose Harry Roque, an activist attorney and Virginia Suarez, an attorney aligned with the Movement for National Democracy (KPD) a party who is strongly opposed to the American Military presence. Suarez, the KPD’s secretary general, set out a strategy that gave a human face to the ways that Filipinos are subjugated by the country’s alliance with the United States; “Anyone who looks at the case has to see it not just for itself, but for the way the VFA treats Filipinos as second-class citizens in their own country,” she said. So let’s dispose of this issue first.

In my recent article FOOL ME ONCE… I noted that under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) the US occupies Philippine bases rent free and limits Filipino oversight. The VFA is certainly perceived as unfairly limiting Philippine sovereignty by many. Without claiming any expertise in the matter, I feel it would be good politics to negotiate fair rental payments as well as a contract to handle hazardous wastes and spills responsibly and in a timely manner. Many Filipinos would be reassured of US intentions if military personal were subject to local laws and to local custody in the event of involvement in criminal activities. A knowledgeable retired Marine Officer informed me that is the case in Japan and Korea.

Taking a look at the gender issue: Meredith Tulasan identifies herself as transgendered, but she expresses the truth regarding gender attitudes here in the Philippines. She points out that, in the Philippines, ordinary citizens have their own traditional way of perceiving the issue. She laments; “The word bakla is used to describe people who are assigned male at birth and desire men but have many characteristics feminine. Because bakla constitute an integrated third gender in the Philippines, many observers don’t recognize Laude’s identity as a woman, repeatedly using her given name and identifying her as gay.,,, The notion that someone considered male would identify as a woman instead of being content to live as a bakla struck many Filipinos as a fundamental lie—an attempt to fool people into believing she is something she is not.”

Obviously Talusan, who had sex change surgery, is a proponent of the fallacy that infants are assigned gender and can change it by identifying as the opposite sex. It is all so politically correct in the brave new world of Western society. Talusan points out that many of today’s young baklas spend a great deal of time on the internet and are influenced by the notion that a bakla can simply identify as a woman and expect to be accepted as female. It is precisely this fundamental dishonesty which made a victim of Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton. As we read deeper into Talusan’s report we find vital clues and facts which reveal what really may have happened in that motel room on that fateful night.

We learn that Laude self-identified as female from the time of puberty and as a young adult added the rouse of fooling foreign men by pretending to be a woman. “She” earned a serious amount of money in the process and was able to buy breast implants and to provide much of “her” income for the support and betterment of “her” family. By the time Pemberton, only nineteen years old met twenty-six years old “Jennifer,” Laude had had many years of practice working as a prostitute. She also had serious affairs with a parade of smitten foreign men who, at least in the beginning mistook “Jennifer” for a real woman.

At another point in her Article, Talusan decries the excessive amount of violence and rejection suffered by “transgendered” individuals throughout America, which she attributes to misunderstanding and ignorance by the general populace rather than righteous anger over being fooled.

Being herself “transgendered” Talusan was able to gain the confidence of the bakla friends of Laude, and get them to speak freely. The information and attitudes they provide is very telling. “Laude was out that night with a group of her trans sex worker friends for the first time in months since becoming engaged to her German boyfriend…Though Laude didn’t need the money the way she used to…The thrill of competition was part of what it meant to hang out with her friends. According to her roommate, Jamille, she might as well take costumers “just for fun.” The women had been working since the soldiers went on liberty that afternoon, and by 10:45 when Laude met Pemberton, she’d already been with three clients. “Jennifer was exhausted,” said another friend Charis. “We work as hard as we can when the soldiers are here.”

So what about the used condoms? Were they tested for Jeffery’s semen? Were they souvenirs from “Jennifer’s” earlier encounters? They are worms that yet wriggle.

But it is the autopsy report that provides the most telling facts concerning the death of Laude. Combined with facts revealed by Talusan, the report provides a likely scenario for the death scene.

From the Inquirer.net Subpoena Served, October 18, 2014
“The report said Laude died of “asphyxia by drowning” and that the transgender woman’s body showed contusions and blood clots on the scalp, chest, arms and legs. Laude had “cuts and bruising on her head and neck” including a cut on her tongue bruising around her eyes and cheek bones, and abrasions on her left forearm and left leg, said lead investigator SPO3 Tyrone Tecson in his report. He described the killing as a “crime of hatred” and a result of a “sex service gone wrong” when the suspect, US Marine Private 1st class Joseph Scott Pemberton, discovered that his sex partner was a gay (sic).”

The evidence belies Pemberton’s admission of strangling Laude from behind when he saw Laude’s penis as he undressed. There was a struggle. It probably started when the two were in an embrace and possibly kissing. The inebriated young Marine may have placed a hand down South and felt Laude’s male member through tight panties. Panic and rage would have ensued. It was not a “crime of hatred” as much as justified anger at having been fooled into such a compromised position. Combined with diminished capacity from excessive drinking, the rage resulted in accidental homicide. Too panicked to think clearly, Pemberton likely placed the knocked out, but still alive, Laude in the bathroom. Who knows how his head got in the toilet bowl? I won’t speculate on that.

An American jury would be unlikely to convict on a charge of murder in the first, because it obviously was not a premeditated act. However the trial will be by Judge under Philippine law, and he will have some discretion in the matter. If I were preparing the defense, I would be looking at plea of diminished capacity and a request for a verdict of simple manslaughter. A light sentence is in order. But let’s look at more underlying issues and remedial actions to prevent another such tragedy of this magnitude.

In 2010 the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) made it a military crime for a serviceman to solicit sex for money. Perhaps, because of this obvious hypocrisy, our men in uniform are not properly instructed, and are woefully unprepared to deal with predatory hustlers who rely on deceit and subterfuge to victimize young men. Pemberton, and most likely his Marine companions, were on his first liberty in a foreign port. Unprepared for the wolf pack of pocohantases or even predatory “freelancers” they were unwary prey for ruthless hustlers of either gender. This needs to change. Boys will be boys. Soldiers and sailors commercial activities should not be criminalized under the UCMJ. Our young serviceman must be trained not only to fight, but also allowed to safely enjoy liberty in foreign ports of call and duty stations.

Subic and Angeles City both have a large number of Ex-Pat “punters” who could write the book on finding safe enjoyment here in the Philippines as well as other ports of call. I am sure many would be happy to be of assistance. Experienced NCOs are also likely capable of providing similar guidelines. The Military Brass needs to take a pro-active approach to preparing our young for safe and enjoyable liberty experiences. The young face sufficient risk in the danger in real war. Guidelines may include some of the following admonitions.

The Punters here in Angeles and Subic refer to the baklas as Billy Boys, and generally avoid them.

• If you are seeking a sexual liaison, start early and lay off the liquor. Keep your head clear.
• Seek the advice and guidance of more experienced men in selecting the area in which to hunt as well as proper bargaining etiquette.
• Avoid Discos; they are dark and loud. The freelancers and cross dressers are too numerous and predatory. Many, if given the opportunity will rob you. Some may be underage. It could be a honey trap. Young Filipino men may become jealous of the attention you attract and may pick a fight.
• Assure yourself of the real gender of your intended paramour. A direct question will often suffice. If you have any doubts, insist on physical proof before leaving a club for the hotel.

The Olongapo/Subic area has a patch of Ex-Pat bars that all feature real women only. It is easy to find and features the kind of entertainment you can appreciate. Angeles City also has its own Ex-Pat scene. You can get more information than you need by doing an internet search.

Remember, nobody ever gets mugged in Church.