His comments stirred up the anger of nationalists and women's rights groups who view the trial as a symbol of American abuse and exploitation of the former colony.

The 90-year-old American Jesuit priest who has lived in the Philippines for most of his life said: “She was 22 and Danny was 19.” said Reuter. “The only one accused of touching her is Danny, the baby boy,” he said, referring to Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, who is at the center of the case.

While Fr. Reuter had no formal role in the case , he has taken it upon himself to be not only a spiritual adviser but also an energetic advocate for the marines. “I don’t think they’re guilty,” he said, “not a bit.”

The Tribune said that “In taking the side of his countrymen he has gambled a lifetime of affection and respect that has led people here to embrace him as one of their own - ”more Filipino than many Filipinos" in the words of one admirer. In 1996 the Philippine Congress awarded him honorary citizenship.

It said Reuter first came to the Philippines as a Jesuit missionary in 1938. He was imprisoned by the Japanese for more than three years during their World War II occupation of the Philippines, then plunged full-tilt into the life of the country.

As part of the Jesuit mission here, he has written and staged dozens of plays, organized singing groups, written newspaper columns and appeared on television and radio. He helped set up the Catholic radio station, Radio Veritas, and still serves as director for mass communications for the Catholic Church.

During the martial-law regime of the former president, Ferdinand Marcos, he spent two years under house arrest in the 1970s for publishing critical articles in a church journal.

The Tribune said his involvement in the nationally polarized case has been a puzzle to many people here. Not surprisingly, some of the sharpest words come from the lead prosecutor, Evalyn Ursua.

“I feel pity for Father Reuter, who has been such a respected priest in the country for so long,” she said during a break in testimony recently. “I think he is allowing his position to be used as a propaganda ploy to deodorize the accused. And for that reason alone I have lost all respect for him. Obviously his nationality is a paramount factor of his being on that side.”

“I’m not doing this because I’m an American,” he told the Tribune. “The reporters run after me. They say, ‘Why are you with the Americans?’ I tell them, ‘Because I’m a priest, for heaven’s sake. I deal with Filipinos 99 percent of the time. Now I’m asked by an American. Am I going to say no?’”

Beyond that, he said, “I think those guys are getting a pretty rough deal. The poor guys have nobody to back them up. They’re nice guys, clean cut guys. Especially the one who’s going to get it in the neck, Danny Smith.”

The four marines are accused of the rape while riding in a van last November on the former U.S. naval base at Subic Bay. The case has become a rallying cry for people who want to expel U.S. soldiers altogether from the country.

The priest said the ones objecting to the US presence are the same people who lead periodic demonstrations in front of the US embassy. He added that contrary to what the activists say, Filipinos love the United States. “The people are the most lovable in the world, very generous. They are suffering but they are very prayerful. They manage to smile no matter how hard things get.”

He continued: “I am very content to be heart and soul with the Philippines and live and die here,” he said. “But I still hold on to that commitment of being an American.”

It was the U.S. Army that drove the Japanese from the Philippines and liberated his prison camp in 1945, and that moment of jubilation and gratitude has never left him. “That’s when I knew what it was to have a country,” he said. “That’s when I made up my mind that I would never change my citizenship.” When he speaks of the Philippines he allows himself to use the word “we.”

“Are we poor?” he said. “Yes we are. Are we getting poorer? Yes we are. How is it going to be getting better? I don’t know.”

It seems a discouraging assessment after nearly 70 years in the Philippines, but by profession, Reuter has no choice but to be an optimist. “I think somehow God will take care of us.