I find it so ironic that in the same week that a gender reveal party in San Benardino California lead to the obliteration of 12,000 acres ( as of Thursday night Philippine time) of Southern California’s forests , a certain other gender reveal “party” almost 6 years ago has caused tempers to flare locally. You can say it was quite a week for things “on fire. ”
Much has been said in GRP and elsewhere about this. I want to formulate my own viewpoint and tie everything back to pinoy culture . I will do so with an assist from Sir Elton John using quotes from one of his hidden gems Sweet Painted Lady . In case you are wondering what does Elton John know about the subject, please keep in mind the lyrics of most of the Elton John hits were written by Bernie Taupin.
I’m back on dry land once again
Opportunity awaits me like a rat in the drain
We’re all hunting honey with money to burn
Just a short time to show you the tricks that we’ve learned
If the boys all behave themselves here
Well, there’s pretty young ladies and beer in the rear
You won’t need a gutter to sleep in tonight
Oh, the prices I charge here will see you alright
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
Joseph Scott Pemberton. was 19 years old during that eventful Oct night in 2014. Were you ever a 19 year old guy? If you are a woman, have you ever seen a group of 19 year old boys together after being in a predominately male environment in the middle of the ocean for over a month? Are you one of these people who have no idea why there are a concentration of brothels in close proximity to a major harbor? JSP was the archetype of a serviceman “hunting honey with money to burn”.
I smell women
Smell ’em in the air
Think I’ll drop my anchor
In that harbor over there
from the musical Les Miserables
So this is nothing new. US military do their own form of conquering foreign lands with dollars as their ammunition. We all know the US gives intel to all their employees visiting foreign lands and I am sure Olangapo is no exception. considering there was a fully operational US Naval base there pre- Cory. For those who have no idea what that area is like I wrote about one of their most famous residents once.
I would have to believe that the Navy/ Army/ Marines in their pre-shore leave briefing would have warned that there were certain locals who are not what they represent themselves to be. Then again my thoughts wander to Cafe Havana in Greenbelt at night and the duplicity I assume that goes on there when the sun goes down and the tourist clientele are less than sober. Mr. Pemberton I assume had that fire down below and sometimes that fire gets in the way of certain processes in the cranium.
Oh, sweet painted lady
Seems it’s always been the same
Getting paid for being laid
Guess that’s the name of the game
Other GRP writers before me have suggested that Jeffrey Laude turns into Jennifer Laude at night not to fight crime but to ask :
” Hey, Mister, have you got a dime/ Mister, do you want to spent some time/ Oh, yeah/ I got what you want, you got what I need/ I’ll be your baby, come and spend it on me”
Donna Summer
We all know that Mr.Laude suffered fatal injuries administered by Pemberton shortly after what I assumed was a reluctant and spontaneous gender reveal party. Pemberton did testify that the surprise motivated him to attack but he did not believe his attack was fatal. There has to be some poetic justice that this is getting published on the 19th anniversary of one of the most significant surprise attacks in history.
Your anagrams are showing, doctor. ‘Louis Friend?’ Iron Sulfide. also known as fool’s gold.
Clarice Starling
Like the aforementioned night spot in Greenbelt, Makati , there are enough examples of local “fool’s gold” who ” talk like a woman but walk like a man” in Olangapo. One aspect nobody brings up in this case. If you feel foreigners have every right to do what Pemberton wanted to do then is it OK for men like Mr. Laude to take away the opportunity from women that Pemberton had in mind. You know , the kind who would not send him into a homicidal rage? If you feel Pemberton is in the wrong for “searching for that kind of fun” then you automatically condemn Laude for providing that service in the first place.
Notice the sob story in the appeal , so pinoy. A little emo touch in an effort to make the scam work. Yet how different is this from dressing up as a woman to deceive a man looking for female companionship?
Let’s leave this morbid subject for a brief moment and imagine yourself in a restaurant and you are starving on a Friday night. You order comes after 45 minutes and its loud and you already had two beers. You can’t wait to bite into your medium rare prime rib and the waiter lifts up the cover of the still sizzling dish and you find yourself staring at a tofu steak. How angry are you? The waiter has little motivation to deceive you. But imagine your mood at the moment of truth.
So, she lays down beside me again
My sweet painted lady, the one with no name
Many have used her and many still do
There’s a place in the world for a woman like you
In my eight years writing for GRP , one my common themes is that many pinoys ignore their lack of skills and international relevance by stretching the truth or false representation. They mask a lousy record in a FIBA tournament by trumpeting the quote of an ESPN commentator, they overstate certain circumstances in the Paul Walker accident and no other country celebrates one silver Olympic medal in 20 years like we do. Another scam that is so pinoy is the load scam written in jejemon and masquerading as the telecom but originating from a prepaid number. The message claims that you have to send them 300 pesos in load since they mistakenly sent you 300 pesos load and their ailing mother needs 300 pesos. Must be some sickness.
The killing of anybody is ugly but there were all sorts of ugly in this case that lead to the tipping point. The craving for the pansin necessary to close a business transaction in a red light district anywhere in the world is often preceded by all sorts of iron sulfide. “Bola Lang Yan ” was the refrain of my former professor. This is not a hate crime. It seems Mr. Laude willingly stepped into the lion’s cage using iron sulfide in an effort to masquerade as prime rib when in reality he was tofu steak. Even in the Elton John song there was a place in the world for a woman that Pemberton thought he was getting for the money. Mr.Laude ain’t no woman but wanted to be perceived as one in the places he was hanging out in dressed the way he was. All that glitters is ( not) gold and you might know the rest of that Led Zeppelin song.
Putting a very sharp needle into the balloon known as Pinoy Pride since 2012.
If you are trying to “have fun” with a “Tunay Woman; then, you finally found out; the “woman is a $2.95 Man”…how would you feel ? You paid already with “cash on hand”, and the “contract” is done…
You were deceived…of course, I may do what Pemberton had done…
So, we must have , ” truth in the contract”; on those “earning their living” in the “oldest profession trade”…
If you are a man, who became a “woman” (transgender”)…tell your customers, the truth.
If you are a woman , who became a “man”…(lesbian)….tell your customers also, the truth…
This will prevent deceit, and trouble in the future….there should be a law on these “contracts”…
Any man want the “Real Thing”…not the “$2.95 Fake Thing” !
This is the way it should be. Ladyboys / trans or whatever upon entry should go up to every foreigner and give full and complete disclosure like Quintana in Big Lebowski.
‘Yeah? Well, you know, that’s just like your opinion ma’am.’
If you’re thinking the way you’re thinking as some clever dude, dudette or whatever with things like these, we should lend our ears and also listen to how the way should be for a clueless foreigner when deceived by someone with full and complete disclosure…the proper way according to you.
Is the writer trying to make an excuse for male horniness and aggression? There’s a chance a lot of men can relate to Pemberton, but are we willing to go to the extent of applying it to the law?
Nice to see Gogs again and his classic wit. With pop culture references worth all the minutes you spend Googling them.
Those who aren’t point-missers will understand that Gogs wasn’t whitewashing Pemberton’s act. He’s saying, if you see Pemberton’s act of violence as wrong, but see nothing wrong with Laude’s deception just to get a bang between the legs, you got a nasty case of the double standards.
You do know ( and I am sure since you blog yourself) that is why I put in the links to reward the reader and maybe enlighten. and 100 % Yes like Killian from Running Man. There is already a risk when providing intimate services to men let alone foreign men. But since you desire their money and you are willing to get it by masquerading a woman, the stakes got a little bit higher. That is not an original idea on my part. There is a risk to short changing a drunken sailor. My point is pinoys love exaggerating and pity parties and bola so much that they will justify duping a customer. I have more points but will use it on the doubters and the recent ex-readers.
That’s why I finally proposed that “final solution” under Benign0’s new article. That an act like Laude’s to deceive someone on their gender for sex should be made liable under law, even just on the civil side. In effect, the law should require people to disclose that they are transgender or what their original gender is (which is only male or female, as reality dictates). Sure, Pemberton deserves punishment for homicide, but it feels there’s impunity on the part of the deceiver. For the “supporters,” Laude deserves sex with someone they deceived. There’s the problem right there. If the “supporters” throw a fit over that, let them.
It’s funny when “activists” claim to be fighting for the truth when they support someone who tries to deceive others about their sex.
“My point is pinoys love exaggerating and pity parties and bola so much that they will justify duping a customer.”
Who’s justifying who?! Who’s exaggerating? In plain view, I read yours but I don’t read anything of that sort from anyone in here. Outside of this realm is another matter…
So, what should be your personal proper legal judgement for weavers of deceptions?
The only point I’m getting with this statement from another ‘Pinoy in denial’ (in deception of himself/???) is:
It’s absolutely okay to kill someone when deceived. Am I correct? If not, why so?
I think some people fail to see what we are getting at.
Remember that are “gold-digger” Filipinas who woo foreigners in order to make them into ATMS. That’s wrong, right?
Some transgenders want to get in on this. That should be wrong too.
OK, we’re not sure if Laude is doing this. But that’s it, whether transgender or true female, Filipinos should stop trying to make ATMs out of foreigners.
‘That’s wrong, right?’
Uhmm… Wrong! Most definitely, not right!
Why go to professional SWs when it’s possible to find the Filipina girl of their dreams of their lifetimes without having to be ATMs.
You’re advice should be directed towards those horny foreigners if your heart is inclined for the protection of these hot-blooded bastard males who are not that innocent about the trade but still insist on having their quick fix. Some are even the owners themselves behind the establishments who actually corrupt, exploit and coerce the poor women into drugs and prostitution.
Have no heart for these Filipinas? Nothing is free, right? Get real!
I was disturbed by the Jennifer Laude articles here when some commentors are using male horniness to jusify Laude’s murder. As if Pemberton didn’t have any faults, he did “MURDER” someone. This is not about Pemberton being tricked by a ladyboy, he should have known better. This does not excuse somebody from murder. I don’t want these horny US marines to come to the Philippines and bang Pinays like they’re just made for sex. That’s very disrespectful. Doesn’t it make you Filipinos wonder why the Philippines is the 2nd top Sex Tourism capital in the world behind Thailand?
What is wrong with you people? I feel disgusted by some commentors here. Being deceived by a ladyboy doesn’t mean that ladyboy deserves death.
@Nicolo:
Nobody deserved death…but sometimes people get very angry, when they are deceived , of their “hard earned” money , that they do those crimes..
Laude had faults also , by posing as a “real woman” and deceiving a sailor, with raging hormones …this triggered his/her murder…
The “oldest profession” is our “number one “tourist attraction”…unfortunately, some “transgenders” had used it , to earn some “monetary bonanza”, in the business….result: the Laude/Pemberton “treat” turned into tragedy…
This will be a lesson that: it is dangerous for transgenders to ply their “trade”, posing as a “real woman” !
If a customer gets very angry at a tindero, that tindero deserves to die?
If a passenger gets really angry at a jeepney driver, that jeepney driver deserves to die?
Everyone works hard for their money.
Transgenders are human too. This is isn’t about the sexuality of the victim. If Pemberton gets fooled by a transgender, that’s Pemberton’s fault. His horniness fooled him, and he should know the consequences on getting on tinder to hook up with “Pinays”.
99.9% of these prostitutes are poor and they have no other source of income. They don’t deserve to die. They’re just like any negosyante taking risks to get money.
So tell me, what is the bigger fault? Tricking people or murdering people? Please don’t tell me that murdering is more acceptable than tricking. I would really leave this site if any of you commentors think murdering just because you touched a dick is acceptable.
I expected some moral decency from this site even after GRP went after Sass Sasot for her transgender beliefs.
@Nicolo:
The “oldest profession” business is much different from other businesses…if the people earning on this “Oldest Profession” business are poor…then, it is their fault , to do “tricks” on people…it is a risky business…if you don’t killed by some angry customers, who are not satisfied, and demand their money back…you get: “tulo”; warts; “kuto” ; HIVAIDS; and other communicable diseases…
There are other ways to earn a living…not because you are poor…you become a prostitute… if you are a real woman, things are better because, you are selling , the “real thing”…however, if are a transgender, posing as a “real woman” : you do prostitution to deceive your customers…you are not selling the “real thing”…that is very risky…
Reassigning your sexual organ, cost a lot of money…from operation, to recovery, to frequent injections of hormones to change your sexuality and sexual outlook…
Where did Laude get the money ? If he/she earned the money, doing tricks and deceiving people…then, he/she is an scammer and a con man…
Sass Sasot is out of the topic…he/she has nothing to do, about the “oldest profession”…Murder/Homicide, is not acceptable in any situation…
But, things happen in our world …we have to accept that !
@Nicolo you realize you are misquoting me with your jeepney/ tindero examples. This is your logic – if you play with fire, not only should you not get your fingers burned , you should not get hurt at all. There is risk in the trade of fulfillment of male desire. There is further risk when you fully intend to short change the customer and Mr. Laude did both. This is your math. Double the risk = double the double fun = no pain. Please reread. Laude went into the lion’s cage willingly and hoping to make bola. As Billy Flynn said ” My client feels that it was a combination of liquor and jazz that led to the downfall.” Your response is why I made this in the first place. The typical pinoy who believes that pinoys can be so proud to be boleros and they should never get hurt since it is not an eye for an eye . Sorry , swim with the sharks and you might get eaten alive. That was Laude’s choice and the worst case scenario resulted. All he had to was say, HI I’m a guy. and he would be ok. Bola lang yan and bola lead to the worst possible outcome. Just say it , in your world the pinoy should be able to be greedy and deceitful and they should not be harmed.
1) he killed somebody and legally it is homicide (Dec 2015 verdict) which is not murder. There were circumstances. The circumstances were exactly my point for writing this . Circumstances: false pretenses, bola, fraud, scam . Things pinoys seem to gloss over and are actually proud of being.
2) if you don’t want horny marines banging pinays then please show me you protesting what Olangapo has historically been. Hate to break it you but some pinays want the money in return for providing a service. Read what I wrote about Dennis Rodman’s father and I linked to it in this blog. Olongapo is not a bastion of morality. Good luck with getting them to conform to your morality.
3) That is the pinoy hypocrisy . All this stuff of being Catholic, pious, and yet tourists come here to produce child porn. Parents sell their kids for all sorts of obscenities.
4) Read the subtitle of GRP ” We beg to differ”. We may not tell what you want to hear but we tell you what you need to hear. Come here and we will expose the double standards and the do what I say not do what I do people. If Laude went up to Pemberton wearing men’s clothing and said ” Hi , I am Jeffrey, let’s get a room.” I guarantee you two things will happen, 1) Pemberton would have refused 2) Laude would have lived to see late October 2014. Imagine telling the truth. What a concept.
@764Hyden963Toro99999
I can’t reply directly to your comment, but my point is that if we use Anger, Deceit, and Hormones as excuses to justify murder, then 99% of humans on Earth will be killed. We’re getting really out of topic. I don’t understand why commentators here believe that anger, deceit, and hormones can be used as excuse to murder people in the 21st century. We would be all dead by now. Things can’t just happen because we have morals as modern humans.
This is for the admins and writers of GRP. I have been following this website for years now. I love the articles, and there are opposing articles that I don’t agree with, but I’ve learned from them.
It’s just disturbing that some readers here encourage murder through the justification of anger, deceit, and hormones. That is mentally insane. I do not want to be part of the GRP community because of these readers.
We live in the 21st century, we can’t use anger, deceit, and hormones to kill other people. If I was tricked by a transgender, I wouldn’t justify my emotions to murder that transgender.
I wish the best for GRP 🙂
Question, is it justifying the murder? Or is it just reminding that before the murder there was deceit? And still following the saying “two wrongs don’t make a right”.
I personally don’t think it was downplaying murder/death of Laude, just that (maybe) a little honesty on Laude’s part may have helped in not leading the situation down the same path of his/her untimely demise.
Maybe the alternative thought you could also pose is, was the mindset of getting pleasured (+ maybe cash) an okay tradeoff for getting a most likely beat down? Just so happened it ended up with more than a beatdown but a death.
A part of me always wondered why the hindsight thought of “what is the likely outcome if we continue down this path?” also not a consideration (for future conversations)?
I do not have anything against the Transgender community but I believe that it is something that you shouldn’t lie about when hoping to get intimate with someone. Yes, it isn’t easy and I wouldn’t downplay it to be easy. It is difficult and can lead to outright rejection.
Though my situation can’t be considered the same I do think a parallel thought can be gleaned. I have a chronic illness. I believe it is my responsibility to tell the persons I am dating who I want to be more than just a date about that reality. I have been left by an ex-gf because of my chronic illness but I don’t blame her for it. Another just seemed to not care to understand my condition and just complained about how much time she gets out of me. Again, completely different scenario but I do believe I have to be honest with my potential partner about these things because getting “more intimate”. I am still single but I don’t regret this choice to be honest because the heartache of being hurt “because I kept it” is quite a hard pill to swallow.
I appreciate the honesty but it doesn’t change anything. Even appeals to emotion does not help.
Pemberton, although a trained Marine, is an unprepared soldier off to war. He rested his fate under the control of the deceit of another and not under his own.
It’s clear as day that there is a GRP selective focus on the deceit and a deliberate ignore on a crime committed. And that’s about it. It’s a choice in their tradition to beg differ.
So, what if there is deceit? The fact is there is still a crime committed, a judgement rendered. Can it pass the test?
We are what we are. We choose to side and identify with who we want to. And that says a lot about us individually and collectively on the larger scale. Crime does not pay in the Philippines and we go along with it.
GRP and its bandwagoning community unashamedly joined in and included themselves by way of its articles and commentaries.
Though I do wonder about the number of posts specific in relation to Laude-Pemberton a little. I guess it is also the current hot topic so there is expected traffic to be gleaned should the site posters discuss it.
I am not really “for” the multiple posts about it and I believe a single blog/post about it would be sufficient.
I personally am not saying Pemberton is innocent. He was proven guilty and that’s that. The pardon, another matter, is a presidential constitutional privilege. If we, as the collective masses of a country, do not want this to be abused and want there to now be set defined rules for pardons, then an amendment is in order as no limits were placed in the 1987 constitution for when the president can use, as far as I am aware.
As for the side of the Transgender Community, after Laude’s murder (it is what it is and I am calling it a murder), has the community now been outright telling those of its community to be upfront about the situation? Or is the mindset still leaning more to the fact that people should just accept who they are “when they find out”?
My thought process is going along the lines, with Laude’s murder, ” what is learned from it?” so that we can minimize the possibility of it happening again. I am acknowledging that it is not a guarantee that a violent outburst won’t happen, just that it reduces the chance of the situation reaching the point before it happens.
For your question, “So, what if there is deceit?” I will have to ask in response, does there need to be? If, as a person, we acknowledge the fact that we are who we are, why should it be hidden or denied to a possible partner? Is it so that we can live at a “false” present without considering any future/its consequences?
Again, murder is murder. That is established. The question does have to be asked, is that all there is to it? The suspect was found guilty. What else can we learn to stop or lessen such things from happening again?
I’m not pretending the world/everyone will just accept when faced with the fact that their potential partner is a Transgender. But if you start with a lie and build on it, that “reality” will crumble.
@Miss Cindy – I’m also not sure what you meant by the first post but I think what I was trying to convey with speaking a little about “me” was miscontrued as appealing to emotion.
I would like to clarify if I may.
I have a chronic illness. There is no cure for it. The maintenance medication I take is simply to try and control the symptoms, not the actual illness. Even with the medication, I can still have flare ups and attacks. Just being clear while keeping details a little vague for my privacy.
Now why did I bring it up in the case of “relationships”.
Because my illness is part of who I am and something that will not change.
If someone were to say I am lazy. Then I can change to become hardworking.
If someone were to call me poor. I can work hard and earn a better life for myself and my family, with a little bit of luck.
But my sickness will be part of me and I do not deny it, not to myself nor to my possible partner in life. So I wouldn’t want to hide it from them/lie about it.
But in context of why I also mentioned a little about my past relationship is…. have you ever heard a line with the effect of “Okay ka sana, kaso ikaw ay ikaw kaya NO.” This was something told to me because of my illness, something that will and can’t change as a matter of fact. It is my TRUTH.
And that’s why I am simply raising the point that deceit is not the answer when it comes to relationships. It might be painful to hear the letters N and O but it is the better answer than one built on a lie as it will reach a point where it hurts not only yourself, but others who you affected with the lie you built upon.
Now this case of Laude might have been built up on a transactional type of relationship but it still was leading to an intimate interaction with another person, as brief or as long as it was expected to take for them to complete it.
@17Sphynx17 – True, the presidential pardon is entirely another matter as a prerogative of a leader and/or as an instrument or measure of diplomacy… especially in these trying times. It’s a done deal by the way and beyond the scope of what is being discussed here. I agree and submit to that.
The issue at hand here is how to go about our chosen views surrounding the question re the Pemberton vs Laude incident.
I assure you the ‘appeal to emotion’ isn’t intented for you or your condition but to the Pemberton issue as part of the implied arguments being mentioned here and there in connection to his case.
I feel your pain but I also feel your acceptance within yourself. You take care of yourself and may the Good Lord shine on you always.
“So, what if there is deceit?” – Deceit is also a crime. Or at least an immoral act.
This ChinoF guy is on auto-pilot with his reaction but failed to mention the rightful penalty or punishment for what he termed as a so called crime.
And it’s funny what this guy here is fighting for and seemingly hasn’t moved on while Mr. Pemberton himself has apologized to the Laude Family and thanked the President for granting him an absolute pardon. The Laude Family, in return, has accepted the apology and wished him well.
In a message dated on the day of his release and deportation and released by his lawyer to media, Pemberton acknowledged the pain that he has caused to the Laude family:
“To the family of Ms. Jennifer Laude, he extends his most sincere sympathy for the pain he caused.”
“In the years he spent confinement, he spent much time contemplating the many errors in his ways regarding the night of October 11, 2014. He wishes he had the words to express the depth of his sorrow and regret.”
“Mr. Pemberton wishes to express his deepest gratitude to President Duterte for granting him an absolute pardon. He is extremely grateful for this act of compassion.”
In a statement on Sunday, Laude family’s lawyer Atty. Virgie Suarez wished Pemberton peace of mind and hoped that he learned the value of life and dignity regardless of gender and nationality.
Interesting bit shared, Tim.
It takes two to tango!
It is possible that Pemberton was not the only one scammed in the process of fulfilling that male desire. I doubt if anybody has the courage to make the complaint, since we know where that would lead to.
What would happen if male biology is made sufficient to make an exception in our laws?
I hint in my piece that since this whole sailor comes to port hunting for honey is accepted that it is better all around if the foreigner’s money goes to a person who was born a woman. Which means the men posing as women hurt the customer as well as legitimate women. I am not justifying the killing by any stretch. I totally agree with you! The stigma of telling another person you were convinced a dude was a hot chick will make the toughest guy shrink in denial. That is what these SCAM ARTISTS rely on. The hiya factor. So go ahead and step on the bola pedal . That is my point with this article. Bola is so intrinsic in pinoy interaction that it will be defended even if it leads to death. It is a dangerous game and this Laude person lived on the edge. Scamming clients and taking money meant for real women.
The point-missers assume that Pemberton goes scot-free back in the US. He’ll go through a court-martial, I would rather dismiss those who say he won’t.