Sunday, October 26, 2014

The Laude Case: Getting too Loud?

I wrote about this on Facebook already, but to juice up this new blog, I'd like to share my own thoughts on the Jennifer Laude case.

For those not familiar with this, it''s all about a crime committed on local shores. The people involved -- an American soldier who was stationed in the Philippines as part of military exercises under the controversial Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and a Filipina "entertainer" who happens to be a transsexual.

Based on initial investigations, the American went out for a night of fun and encountered the Filipina. Both checked in a motel in Olongapo City (located northwest of Manila) but several hours later, the American checked out alone.

The Filipina transgender -- Jennifer Laude -- was eventually discovered half-naked and lifeless in the motel room's bathroom, her head leaning by the toilet bowl.

Laude was found to have died from asphyxia due to drowning. Her head was apparently forcibly dunked in the toilet bowl until she stopped struggling.

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Now for such a simple crime, so much noise has muddled this case.

First, there are the activists who have used this killing to add to their rants against the VFA.

As stated earlier, the Visiting Forces Agreement has always been a controversial issue due to the perceived lopsided components of the said agreement between the Philippines and the United States. Add to that the fact that every time there is increased American military presence in the Philippines, there also is an increase in chances of these visitors committing abuses against our locals.

It already happened before with that case involving the rape of a Filipina by another American serviceman. The case ended with the serviceman being spirited away by the US Embassy back to the native land, allegedly with the help of Philippine government.

Now, this.

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Another source of noise is the one coming from the LGBT community.

Some are speculating that what happened here was a hate crime -- that the American serviceman here, Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, allegedly killed Laude because of his discovery that the latter was not a complete woman.

And thus, the cry for justice for a fallen comrade of the LGBT community.

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And then there's the third and most annoying source of noise -- that of quasi-moral ignoramuses who choose to blame Laude for getting herself killed.

"Malandi kasi (She's slutty)," or "Me boyfriend na nga, sumama pa sa ibang lalaki (Even with a boyfriend, she still went out with another man)."

"Buti nga (Serves her right)."

To these Bible-thumping moralists, I say, let thee who hath no sin cast the first stone.

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There is actually a fourth source of noise in this case, and it comes from Laude's own stable -- her family and her German boyfriend.

It's bad enough that so many sectors are trying to derail the public from the real issue of the case, but her family just had to add to the melee.

First, they were asking for "help" from the President himself. Apparently the help they were asking for was not much the speedy resolution of the case but was more for financial remuneration.

Then came the German boyfie's arrival and press con of sorts.

Then came the dramatic "over-the-bakod (fence)" incident at Camp Aguinaldo by the Laude family and the boyfie, with the intent to confront Pemberton who was detained in the said facility.

Just from these circus acts, we could easily deduce why Laude went for a life of peddling her body and risking her life in the streets of Olongapo.

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Can we just simplify everything, go beyond all of this gunk, and get to the heart of it all?

A human being was killed. Justice must be served.

Will the murder be less of an offense because of the victim's sexual orientation and profession?

I don't think so!

Does the suspect become less guilty because he's a high and mighty American serviceman who decided to kill because he was "tricked" into thinking that his lover for the night had his same genitalia?

I don't think so!

For the meantime, this circus spawned by the Laude case will plod on. To where?

Heck, we all know where this is going.

Under the perennial rug.

*Photos c/o Google Images

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