The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it would deport US Marines Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton as soon as he gets released after receiving an absolute pardon from President Rodrigo Duterte.
Below is the full statement of the Bureau of Immigration posted on their official Facebook account:
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it will implement a deportation order that it issued against US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton who was granted absolute pardon by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said he already asked Bureau of Corrections (BUCOR) Director Gerald Bantag to turn Pemberton over to the BI the moment he is released from prison so that his deportation could be implemented and his immediate departure from the country could be arranged and facilitated.
Morente explained that the BI is dutybound and mandated to implement a summary deportation order that the bureau’s board of commissioners issued against Pemberton on Sept. 16, 2015 for being an undesirable alien.
The BI Chief, nonetheless, stressed that with the grant of executive clemency to Pemberton there is no more legal impediment or obstacle to Pemberton’s departure from the Philippines.
Immigration to deport Pemberton after release from prison
He said his request that Pemberton be turned over to the BI was only meant to enable the BI to complete or finish the deportation proceedings that was initiated against the American convict.
Morente observed that it has always been a standard operating procedure for the BUCOR to turn over to the BI alien convicts who have finished serving their prison sentences so they could be deported or sent back to their country of origin.
“At any rate, we are awaiting instructions from our Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra for guidance on how we will implement the deportation order in a manner that is within the prescribed laws of the country” he added.
Lawyer Arvin Santos, BI Legal Division Chief, said aliens who are up for deportation are required to submit clearances from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and regional trial court as proof that they have no more pending criminal or civil cases.
Santos said that once these requirements the bureau will arrange and schedule the deportee’s flight and he is usually escorted to the airport by BI intelligence agents and civil security personnel would turn him over to the airline concerned before he boards the aircraft.