Laude family files petition vs. EDCA

Photo courtesy of Jeffrey ‘Jennifer’ Laude’s Facebook account

MANILA — The family of slain Filipino transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude on Monday filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to be included in the petitioners against the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Laude was allegedly killed by United States Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton in Olongapo City last Oct. 11.

In a 10-page petition-in-intervention, the Laude family argued that as taxpayers and family of Jeffrey Laude alias “Jennifer”, who was allegedly killed by a United States Marine, they should be allowed to be part of the petitioners against EDCA.

The Laude family also asked the SC to declare as “illegal” the creation of EDCA allegedly because it is violative of Section 25, Article 18 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution for disregarding the country’s sovereignty.

Former Senators Rene Saguisag and Wigberto Tanada, former University of the Philippines (UP) president Francisco Nemenzo, Jr., among others, earlier argued that the government allegedly abused its power when it signed in the EDCA which is considered as “disadvantageous to the country’s national interest.”

They also argued that aside from signing the EDCA without the “concurrence” of the Congress, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin also allegedly has no jurisdiction to sign and enter into the said agreement.

The SC is set to conduct the oral arguments on the petitions against the EDCA on Tuesday.