Filipina's Family Wants Media Coverage Of US Marine Trial

The family of a transgender Filipina allegedly killed by a U.S. marine has asked the Philippines' Supreme Court to allow media coverage of the murder trial.



The motion filed by the relatives of Jeffrey "Jennifer" Laude says that journalists were barred from entering a courtroom in northern Olongapo city during the arraignment of Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton last month, GMA News reported Monday.



The petition cited Section 7, Article III of the 1987 Philippine Constitution in saying that to "allow the media to enter the courtroom and to attend the on-going Pemberton trial is mandated by the constitutional right of the people to receive information."



Pemberton, 20, is suspected of killing Laude, 26, in a motel in Olongapo on Oct. 11 last year. He is charged with murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.



Laude's relatives said the Pemberton case could follow the example of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre trial, where the media is allowed to record footage prior to the proceedings.



The Philippine Supreme Court banned live coverage of the massacre trial in 2012, but permitted written coverage of the proceedings and footage prior to the hearings, according to GMA.



The Maguindanao massacre saw 58 people -- among them 31 journalists -- killed when an election convoy came under attack by more than 100 armed men on southern Mindanao island in Nov. 2009.



The victims were on their way to file a certificate of candidacy for a local mayor when they were kidnapped and brutally killed -- those who died included the candidate's wife, sisters, journalists, lawyers, aides, and motorists who bore witness to the event or were mistakenly identified as part of the convoy.



The case of Laude's killing has heightened tension between the Philippines and the U.S., with Pemberton's incarceration in a U.S.-run facility raising complaints that the U.S. is scorning Philippine sovereignty under the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows the U.S. to retain custody of accused personnel during judicial proceedings.



The U.S. has maintained a heavy military presence in the Philippines since its former colony gained independence in 1946. The number of troops is expected to increase as U.S. President Barack Obama attempts to counter China's influence in the region.



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