Whether the victim was gay or straight, looks like a girl and is a girl, or looks like a girl but is really a man is really a non-issue, isn’t it? The case of Jeffrey Laude, a Filipino transgender found murdered in a hotel room in Olongapo city is really just that — a murder case. The suspected perpetrator, a United States Marine, is reportedly in the custody of the US Navy, according to the ABC News.
“A joint Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Philippine National Police investigation is being conducted concerning the death of Jeffrey Laude, a Philippine national,” said Col. Brad Bartelt, the spokesperson for U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific.
In a statement, Bartelt said the Marine Corp “is working closely and cooperating fully with the Philippine National Police to ensure a thorough investigation is completed and due process of law is followed.”
He confirmed that the unidentified Marine is being held onboard the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu during the investigation.
US Navy personnel in Subic Bay back in the old days.
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An interesting piece of information in an Inquirer report on the incident seems to add a bit of credence to this angle…
Mark Clarence Gelviro, 22, the victim’s friend, said he and Laude met the suspect at the Ambyanz Disco Bar, also on Magsaysay Drive, at 10:55 p.m.
Gelviro told the police that Laude asked him to accompany them to the hotel.
He said Laude, when they reached the hotel, then asked him to leave before the foreigner could discover that they were transgenders.
American forces are currently in the Philippines to conduct exercises jointly with the Philippine Navy under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that grants the US access to key military facilities around the country. However, while the VFA grants the Philippines “primary rights” over the jurisdiction of offending US personnel in crimes committed within its territory, it also limits the Philippine police’s jurisdiction in the investigation of these crimes. Paragraph 6 of Article 5 of the VFA thus states in this regard…
The custody of any United States personnel over whom the Philippines is to exercise jurisdiction shall immediately reside with United States military authorities, if they so request, from the commission of the offense until completion of all judicial proceedings. United States military authorities shall, upon formal notification by the Philippine authorities and without delay, make such personnel available to those authorities in time for any investigative or judicial proceedings relating to the offense with which the person has been charged.
It is likely too that Filipino activists who are “anti-imperialism” advocates will make this to be all about something bigger than just murder. A whole raft of controversial, often inflammatory issues can potentially be woven into the case including gay rights, the “immorality” of American military personnel that is a widely-held presumption amongst Filipinos, neo-imperialism, and the legality of the use of Philippine military bases by US forces.
In 2006 US soldier Lance Corporal Daniel Smith was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the rape of a Filipino woman in 2005. Initially, the accuser, Suzette Nicolas, alleged that she was gang-raped. After a few days, she then said that only Lance Corporal Daniel Smith raped her. She also said that just before midnight of November 1, 2005, Smith raped her inside a moving Starex van at Alava Pier in Subic. Suzette also alleged that Smith’s other companions, Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier, were inside the van cheering Smith on as it happened. Smith countered the charges saying that what occurred between him and Suzette was consensual sex.
However, Nicolas later recanted her allegations against Smith et al, saying that she “may have possibly lost [her] inhibitions, became so intimate with Daniel Smith and did more than just dancing and talking with him” on the night of the alleged crime.
“My conscience continues to bother me realizing that I may have in fact been so friendly and intimate with Daniel Smith at the Neptune Club that he was led to believe that I was amenable to having sex or that we simply just got carried away,” she said.
Indeed, some Filipinos and expatriates believe that Nicolas was just an extortionist, whose rape story was just a lie which militants were willing to use to score the government on the US-RP Visiting Forces Agreement. Before the court found Smith guilty, lawyer and columnist Connie Veneracion wrote in a Manila Standard article, “One of the popular theories going around is that this is a case of extortion…”, concluding, “Without passing on the truth or falsity of such a claim…, extortion is a matter for the defense to establish as a clear motive supported by relevant evidence. Character is not sufficient evidence. Only those without real evidence rely on guesswork, innuendoes and trial by publicity.”
Suffice to say, this recent imbroglio will likely be another one of those politically-charged cases that Filipinos will be watching closely in the coming months, or even years.
[NB: Parts of this article were lifted from the Wikipedia.org article “Subic rape case” in a manner compliant to the terms stipulated in the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License that governs usage of content made available in this site.]
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Jeffery, aka Jennifer was a personal friend. He/she will be missed. I condemn the US military’s presence here in the Philippines. Let’s pray the perpetrator is punished to the full extent of the law.
“Inonse ng bakla si kano”, As per news, the poor marine was made to believed he was a she, to which, transgenders lived in a make believed world isn’t it? Until he founds out, they have the same tool when urinating. Had this type of genders live the way it should be, would they be afraid to be found out as manifested by the friend who accompanied the two at the lodge? Would he be killed? I dont think so, for sure, … I deplore the killing, but one mistake of one does not reflect the fault of everyone in the US Military.
Loco ka ba?
The tranny was a fraud artist. It was defrauding a German “fiancée” out of a monthly stipend and pretending to be a girl to whore with American military personnel. It contributed to its own demise. So save your crocodile tears for someone who actually gives a rat’s ass.
i know this if the phillipines would crack down on prostitution they would have less problems there from manila to general santos you can get a hooker anywhere .
Even after the dismantling of Subic Bay, Olongapo remains one of the largest open-air whorehouses on the planet. Clark is probably number 2.
Gotta love the Roman Catholic Church. Whores are a dime a dozen and the church is happy with that, but heaven forbid a rape victim need an abortion.
You are absolutely wrong. I have lived in Subic Bay since 1998. I’m very much aware of the bar girls (GRO’s, sex workers, dancers, free lance hookers etc) in Angeles City, Manila, Caloocan, Cubao, Makaiti, and the Malate district in Intramurious Manila. Those kind of places exceed those of Olongapo. Yes Barrio Barretto has bars but they are unequal to those in the places mentioned. Why does this nation always throw the past history of the city in the face of the folks of Olongapo who live here. What you are saying is no longer true about Olongapo, they are far from number o. This planet. Cities all over the world have red light districts which far exceed those here in the Philippines.
Bullshit. You are in denial, Hinson.
Sure, there are infamous red light districts in Metro Manila. There are red light districts in many cities. Olongapo, however, pinhead, isn’t a district. Olongapo is a city and as a city it is basically 100% whores or those feeding off whores. Angeles is in the same situation.
To its credit, Olongapo has tried to wean itself off prostitution, but they’ve failed miserably. They tried re-branding as an eco-tourism destination and as a scuba diving destination. Their attempts were a joke and failed miserably. The only scuba diving there is an afterthought subsequent to spending 15 minutes with one of an endless stream of Olongapo whores. “Hey, tell my brother you like the way I did you and he’ll give you $20 off on a dive over broken reefs.”
Olongapo is one of the biggest penicillin markets in the world.
haha how in denial joe hinson lol. baretto never stopped. same in angeles. what only changed is that its a bit more classier. than it used to but still the same
transgender or not . what was this person doing in the hotel room pulling tricks for money ? its known world wide that forien people from all nations come there to get laid by some asian chick . but still murder is murder try to look at the transgender and what he was doing in the hotel room maybe this marine should be prosicuted for murder . but if the transgender was really a male prostitute then they say when you play the fiddle someday you eill pay the piper
Play with fire and you get burned.
The jarhead will get prosecuted, but I’m shedding no tears for the tranny either.
I am an American (non military) that is on his third extended visit to your lovely country. I doubt that you condemned the U.S. military when they helped fight off the Japanese from killing your men and raping your women. Also, if Jeffery had have been upfront with the American to begin with. He would most likely be alive today. Not that killing him was justified at all. But this should serve as a wake up call to all other trans genders, to make sure that they tell potential lovers of their status when they first meet.
Bob, you had me fooled until the last few sentences where you finally shined as a fucking retard.
The issue is much deeper than truth in advertising. How about teaching adolescent jarheads that when you go trolling for rental snatch (an illegal act in and of itself), when you run into problems the best solution is not to kill someone?
Not only has that dumb piece of shit killed someone, he has exposed himself to the whole world as having tasted tranny dick. I’m sure when he’s ultimately released from wherever he’s in custody that he will go real far with a dishonorable discharge working as a lawnmower repairman.
If the solider murdered this person then he should be punished to the full extent of the law no matter if she/he was Filipino or otherwise. In regards to your condemnation, you and your ancestors should have said that when the USA was kicking the Japanese out of the Philippines. You might also rethink your condemnation if/when the Chinese become even bolder at claiming islands that obviously belong to the Philippines.
‘The Dude looks like a Lady’, ‘You know he was a Lady’….UGH! Tough one to, er, swallow? LOL!
IDK, but U.S. Marines are ‘macho’ MF-ers and this ‘guy’ really potentially embarrassed the fuck out of the Marine. The victim allegedly wanted to ‘leave’ before the Marine found out he was not a ‘lady’, but wasn’t quick enough ?
This whole thing ‘sucks’, and once again….NO ONE IS GOING TO JAIL, especially the USA Marine, get used to it….its not like it never happened before.
alot and i do mean a lot of visiting forces say look at those they look dogs man. months at sea and you wont think of them as dogs anymore. the real problem solver would be the one about filipinos stop spreading their legs for any foreigner.
you never mentioned this he/she has a fiance in germany. Lets not make this thing look so innocent. If you are engaged why are you trying to screw a USA Marine. I had this happen in Army I just beat the shit out of the sicko and dumped his ass on the side of road like a dog he was. Play the game pay the price all you scammers. As far as I am concerned he helped his german fiance from future pain. I think it was appropriate to stick his head in a toilet bowl. he must of thought his brain was full of shit and such an appropriate place to put his head. Put yourselves in the Marines shoes, no sex for months, gets time away reaches down and a homo scammed him and probably tried to rob him, we dont know the rest. I have lived in Philippines 3 years and i have read and witnessed many homos setting up Americans or foriegners for their greedy gain. He/She gets her karma quicker than most should get.
gay, straight, or bi….a person was killed by another person… this is appalling and should be appalling and not “just murder”. the law should be fairly applied. there should be an investigation, a trial if required, and the guilty party if there is one should be punished.
but as the author alludes to, what we will likely have instead is another circus. cue the “free” media and the politicians and activists hungry for tv time.
one wonders how this will play out. at least at the outset there is more tangible evidence here than in the smith case (here there is video of the alleged perp and the victim at a time near the death of the victim).
that it involves the vfa complicates matters.
another complication is that the victim is a transgender who may have been soliciting for sex. this, especially in the philippines, is not a sympathetic character (victim). not as sympathetic as nicole (the supposed smith victim) anyway. plus nicole’s narrative a woman being raped by a GI was just easier to follow and more sympathetic to filipinos. already even in this post and its related responses there is some degree of victim blaming going around.
also the victim is dead. in a visceral society like the philippines the victim’s reaction to said atrocity is important (let’s just say the dead are unable to express themselves).
one final thing, in this situation the vice of filipino pride may be transformed into the virtue of vigilance and a desire to see justice served, if only…
Made for TV
… to distract us from more relevant issues.
Pork/DAP/Yolanda, tabi diyan!
The case of Nicolas and Smith…Nicolas was given a Green Card , in exchange of her not pursuing the Rape Case.
Jeffrey Laude case is about a Boy who became a Girl; and is soliciting sex for her/his own reason. It is sad, but, I hope that Justice will be served right.
That U.S. Marine got less than , what he had bargained for…
These U.S. Marines are young; full of raging hormones; and wants “happenings” in their life…
Wrong.
Boy who pretended to be a girl.
I heard on the news that some gay rights activist want to make this a Hate Crime, which I honestly believe is not. A crime of passion, maybe, but not a Hate crime. I just wish this does not become a political circus (well, it looks like it has already began), soon we’ll be seeing politicians making a scene. Pretending to be fighting for justice, when in fact they are just doing it for publicity.
It is not a Hate Crime; nor is a Crime of Passion…it is a ” Fraud Case “. The U.S. Marine bargained for a “help me make it thru the night” woman. In return, he got a man who became a woman…and he is not aware of it. Because, she/he looks like a woman…
So you’re trying to say that just because the US Marine was deceived, he had the right to kill him?
The fact that he felt deceived after knowing that the girl was actually a guy, he killed him for that reason. It *is* a crime of hate.
It is a homicide case; triggered by the fraud of the man/woman…
The U.S. Marine did wrong ; by killing the man/woman…I felt sympathy for the victim…
I would respectfully disagree with you sir.
“The fact that he felt deceived after knowing that the girl was actually a guy, he killed him for that reason”
– This is ANGER that eventually led to murder.
For this to be a HATE CRIME you would have to prove that the suspect has committed the CRIME with PREJUDICE.
How do you know? was you with the 2 people? was you in the room when this happened? did the marine say to you he wanted a woman and not a man? and the answer is NO, so why make stuff up?
Only two people know what happened and what was said in the hotel room.
One is dead
and the other is not talking.
This does not justify murder…
Still doesn’t justify or excuse murder.
A murder has been committed and the perpetrator should go to jail. It doesn’t matter what the guy did, he/she was murdered. The guy that did it should go to fuckin jail, he wanted to play and so he thinks because he was an idiot and did not realize the chick was a guy, too bad…it doesn’t convey the right to commit murder.
Spot on.
WTF!! I deplore the killing, if found guilty, the jarhead should be jailed! But the trans should have told the jarhead he is a fag, he was shortchange, thought he could get away by pretending she was. and since time on in Clark and Subic, even in other countries, a lot of this dudes end up beaten if they tried to pull on to a fast lane for a fast buck. 3rd sex always feel they could get away with it by pretending…
This isn’t a fraud case as much as the commentors keep saying. The question is that how can this soldier not know when there are already – 2 used condoms – in the trashcan before he committed the murder? Just sayin.
Let me play the Devil’s Advocate on this one…
“2 used condoms – in the trashcan” won’t prove that the sexual act has been committed. The scene of the crime wasn’t exactly well known for their Housekeeping. How would you know if the condoms weren’t left by the the previous tenant of the room.
DNA testing will show very clearly if the used condoms were used by either the victim or the accused.
WTF! I really hate that person, Who killed to jeffrey!
You hate the person who killed Joffrey? GoT fans would lynch you for that! 😛
Si Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs na bahala sa mamatay tao na yan. Yari siya, tsk.
Hmmm. Made for TV nga!
This isn’t a fraud case as much as the commentors keep saying. The question is that how can this soldier not know when there are already – 2 used condoms – in the trashcan before he committed the murder? Just sayin.
There were two dicks right? Hence two condoms. A few other plausible reasons as well actually but i guess you dont use condoms do you.
Two conforms, one flea-bag cesspool motel renting rooms by the hour for fukfests. Those condoms could have been from last year. You think hygiene there is Grade A?
In any event, I’m sure the police will do a DNA analysis.
Punch and kick him, but I guess no need to kill him. Attention scammers….. Learn a lesson please!
Simply put, there was likely deception from a transgender. Then the person deceived was a gun-toting asswipe – result is predictable. From Crying Game to Shooting Game.
Not “likely”. Definitely.
The granny’s friend stated they didn’t want the Marine to find out they were tranny.
Just another case of “Crying Game “
Truth in advertising. Shit happens.
If they can prove the jarhead did it, he’ll get convicted. But I bet he never sees the inside of a Filipino jail. VFA rules!
Thank you. I don’t have to write something about this anymore! 🙂 100% agree with you
the Marine will never stand trial. The 4 billy boys that entered the room after the marine left
were the criminals and this is why there was 2 condoms in the trash. The marine was upset about the dishonesty but he did not have sex 2 times with the transgender. Where is this marine now.
Troll harder, Johnny.
The marine is currently in a military lockup in the Philippines.