Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap said the Laude murder case is “not only an issue of justice but also the fight for sovereignty against the creeping foreign military intervention.”
“There is a bigger picture in the Laude case that is questioning the legitimacy of foreign military troops who goes in and out of the country so freely under a one-sided military agreement. We are asking the family of Jennifer Laude to pursue the case against Pemberton” said Hicap.
Hicap described the Laude case as “a test case for the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement or EDCA which legitimacy is in question at the Supreme Court.”
“The settlement will probably weaken our case against EDCA. If EDCA will get a favorable decision in the Supreme Court, expect unlimited US troop’s deployment along with their different nuclear- powered war machines in our country. Such cases like the rape of Nicole and now the murder of Jennifer will likely be repeated because there will be another Pemberton on the loose,” he said.
Hicap warned that a compromise on the Laude murder case would only encourage the US government to merely indemnify with cash the relatives of victims of US military personnel. So the government must also discourage the Laude family not to enter into any compromise and instead pursue the criminal case.
The Laudes were reported to be seeking monetary compensation worth millions, as well as US visas as condition for them to drop the case against Pemberton.
