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OCT 14, 2014 - 11:58

MANILA (Reuters) - The United States will
keep custody of a Marine named as a
suspect in the murder of a transgender
Filipino he met in a bar,
U.S. to keep
custody of
marine suspect
in Philippines
transgender
murder case

Law and order | Politics
English
the head of the Philippine military said on
Tuesday, with one U.S. warship staying
on during the investigation of the crime.
The commander of U.S. Pacic
Command this week ordered the USS
Peleliu and another warship to stay in the
former U.S. base of Subic Bay until after
the end of the investigation into the
murder of Jerey Laude, 26, who was
found strangled on Saturday in nearby
Olongapo City.
U.S. troops have been taking part in a
10-day military exercise with the
Philippines. Four other U.S. ships in Subic
Bay that were not part of the exercise
were allowed to leave.
"Under the Visiting Forces Agreement,
the custody of the erring soldier stays
with the Americans," General Gregorio
Catapang said after meeting the U.S.
Pacic commander, Admiral Samuel
Locklear.
Foreign ministry ocial Eduardo Oban,
the executive director of the Visiting
Forces Agreement Commission, said one
U.S. warship could leave the Philippines
but the other, the USS Peleliu, would
stay on during the investigation by police
and the U.S. naval criminal investigation
service.
A murder case could be led against the
American soldier as early as Wednesday,
a police source said, adding that
authorities were waiting for completion
of a post-mortem report.
The Philippines will have criminal
jurisdiction, Catapang added, meaning
that local courts would try the
serviceman.
He said the region's two oldest security
allies met on Tuesday to nalise more
than 400 military activities next year
under a mutual defence treaty, focussing
on maritime security and humanitarian
assistance and disaster response
operations.
"This will not aect our relationship with
the United States, inasmuch as the
oence was not committed during the
Balikatan or Phiblex exercise but during
an administrative break for that soldier,"
he said, in a reference to the exercise.
The case was also discussed when
Catapang and Locklear met Philippine
Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.
At that meeting, Locklear oered his
regrets for the unfortunate incident,
expressed sympathy with the victim's
family, and sought a full investigation,
Catapang said.
The U.S. Navy Times said a U.S. Marine
was in the custody of American military
ocials aboard the USS Peleliu in
connection with the case.
The Philippine government should take
custody of the serviceman, however,
said a nationalist group that opposes a
new 10-year defence cooperation pact
signed by Manila and Washington in April.
The Philippine government was
protecting American interests, not its
own sovereignty, it said.
"Our proposal is simple," said the group's
leader, Renato Reyes. "Surrender the
American soldier to Philippine authorities,
then allow all U.S. ships and military
personnel to leave and never come
back."
Presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma
assured the family of Laude, who also
went by the name Jennifer, that the
Philippine government would make every
eort to secure justice.
"Our government is fully committed to
ensure that the rights of our citizens are
properly protected," he added.
(Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by
Clarence Fernandez)
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