REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
THIRD JUDICIAL REGION
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
Branch 74, Olongapo City
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES,
Plaintiff,
CASE NO. 865-14
FOR: MURDER
- versus L/CPL
JOSEPH
PEMBERTON,
SCOTT
Accused.
x----------------------------------------x
URGENT EX-PARTE MOTION
FOR CORRECTION OF THE ARREST WARRANT
PRIVATE COMPLAINANT MARILOU S. LAUDE, by
counsel, respectfully files this Urgent Ex-Parte Motion for Correction of
the Arrest Warrant, and states that:
1.
On 16 December 2014, the Honorable Court issued an
arrest warrant against Accused Joseph Scott Pemberton in connection
with the murder of Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude.
2.
However, the arrest warrant for said Accused was
addressed to “Any officer of the law through the Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA), Pasay City (emphasis supplied).”
3.
Consequently, there might be serious difficulties
implementing the arrest warrant as it is addressed through the
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), which is not a law enforcement
agency.
4.
More importantly, coursing the arrest warrant through
the DFA may subject its service and implementation to the
DFA’s interpretation of the legal circumstances of the Accused,
thus adversely affecting the power of the Honorable Court to
implement the said arrest warrant.
5.
What the arrest warrant unwittingly does is to give the
DFA the exclusive and plenary powers to determine the propriety of
its service to the Accused.
6.
But the rule is that it is still the Court that has control over
any proceeding involving a jurisdictional matter brought before it,
even if it may well involve the country’s relations with another
foreign power. It is a legal and not a political question, properly
belonging to the judicial branch and not to the political branch.
7.
A very illustrative point of this was the holding of the
Supreme Court in Liang (Huefeng) v. People,1 to wit:
First, courts cannot blindly adhere and take on its
face the communication from the DFA that petitioner is
covered by any immunity. The DFA’s determination that
a certain person is covered by immunity is only
preliminary which has no binding effect in courts. In
receiving ex-parte the DFA’s advice and in motu
proprio dismissing the two criminal cases without notice
to the prosecution, the latter’s right to due process was
violated. It should be noted that due process is a right of
the accused as much as it is of the prosecution. The
needed inquiry in what capacity petitioner was acting at
the time of the alleged utterances requires for its
resolution evidentiary basis that has yet to be presented at
the proper time. At any rate, it has been ruled that the
mere invocation of the immunity clause does not ipso
facto result in the dropping of the charges.2 (italics in the
original, internal citations omitted)
8.
Further, as “…the civil action for the recovery of civil liability
arising from the offense charged”3 shall be “deemed instituted with the
criminal action..,”4 the arrest warrant in this criminal case is akin to the
summons in a civil case.
9.
Hence, Private Complainant as the party to the civil
action deemed instituted in this criminal action, respectfully prays
that the Honorable Court ORDER the correction of the arrest warrant
for Accused Joseph Scott Pemberton so that it states “Any officer of
the law and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Pasay City.”
G.R. No. 125865, Jan. 28, 2000.
Id.
3 Section 1, Rule 111 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.
4 Id.
1
2
2
10. This prayer is also consistent with usual court practice
addressing arrest warrants to “Any officer of the law.” Further,
rather than coursing said warrant through the DFA, said agency is
made only one of the parties involved in effecting the warrant of
arrest against PFC Pemberton.
11. Moreover, this motion is urgently applied for since with
the Christmas season there will be a series of legal holidays starting
with 24 December 2014 wherein all the courts and government offices
will be closed. These are exigent circumstances calling for the urgent
consideration of this motion.
PRAYER
WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed
that the Honorable Court ORDER the correction of the arrest warrant
for Accused Joseph Scott Pemberton so that it states “Any officer of
the law and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Pasay City.”
Other reliefs just and equitable under the premises are likewise
prayed for.
Makati City for Olongapo City, 17 December 2014.
ROQUE & BUTUYAN LAW OFFICES
Counsel for Private Complainant Marilou S. Laude
1904 Antel Corporate Center
121 Valero Street, Salcedo Village
Makati City
Email: mail@roquebutuyan.com
Tel. Nos. 887-4445/887-3894;
Fax No: 887-3893
By:
H. HARRY L. ROQUE, JR.
Roll No. 36976
PTR No. 4264493/Jan 30, 2014/Makati
IBP No. 01749/Lifetime
MCLE Exemption No. IV-000513
(issued on Feb 15, 2013)
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ROMEL R. BAGARES
Roll No. 49518
PTR No. 4264492/Jan 30, 2014/Makati
IBP No. 961461/Jan 29, 2014/Socsargen
MCLE Compliance No. IV-0011822
(issued on Jan 25, 2013)
GILBERT TERUEL ANDRES
Roll No. 56911
PTR No.4264862/Jan. 30, 2014/ Makati
IBP No. 961460/Jan. 29, 2014/Negros Occ.
MCLE Compliance No. IV-0011824
(issued on Jan. 25, 2013)
By:
VIRGINIA LACSA SUAREZ
Collaborating Counsel for Private Complainant
LABOR ADVOCATES FOR WORKERS’
SERVICES (LAWS INC.)
Roll No. 41145
Lifetime IBP Member-LRN 05283
(April 27, 2005)
PTR # 4232794/01-07-14/Makati
MCLE Compliance No. IV-0022951/7-6-2013
3rd Floor MKP Bldg., No. 22 Libertad St.
Mandaluyong City 1550
CP/Tel.No.09088159923/531-07-86/87
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NOTICE OF HEARING
AND EXPLANATION
THE HON. CLERK OF COURT
Regional Trial Court
Branch 74, Olongapo City
PROS. EMILIE FE. M. DELOS SANTOS
Counsel for the People
City Prosecution Office
Olongapo City, Zambales
ATTY ROWENA GARCIA FLORES and
ATTY. BENJAMIN TOLOSA, JR.
Counsel for Accused Joseph Scott Pemberton
9k The Fort Residences
30th cor. 2nd Avenue
Burgos Circle
Bonifacio Global City
0399 Taguig
Metro Manila
Please take note that the undersigned counsel will submit the
foregoing Urgent Ex-Parte Motion for Correction of the Arrest Warrant
for the consideration and approval of the Honorable Court
immediately upon receipt, with waiver of appearance and without
further arguments due to the urgency of the matter being raised.
Also, due to the shortage of messengerial services, time
constraint, and distance, this Urgent Ex-Parte Motion for Correction of
the Arrest Warrant is being served to other parties by registered mail
in accordance with Section 11, Rule 13 of the Revised Rules of Court.
GILBERT TERUEL ANDRES
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