Newly appointed Justice Secretary Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa said the Bureau of Immigration's deportation order against United States Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton cannot be implemented while his case is pending trial in a Philippine court.
In a statement, Caguioa said it is within the BI's jurisdiction to determine a foreigner's "undesirability", arising from the person's existing criminal or civil cases. The BI's declaration that an alien is undesirable will result to his deportation.
However, the Justice Secretary underscored that a foreigner cannot be deported until the cases against him pending in Philippine courts have been decided, and in the event that the foreigner is found guilty of the charges, he has to serve his sentence first before he can be deported.