ManilaMailDC.Net - RP blinks on Marines’ case; scrap of VFA urged

RP blinks on Marines’ case; scrap of VFA urged

MANILA – Unable to get the United States to turn over custody of four US marines accused of raping a Filipina in Subic last year, the Philippine government blinked and said it will not longer pursue the issue.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales said Jan. 20 the country had no choice but to comply with the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) which states: “The custody of any United States personnel over whom the Philippines is to exercise jurisdiction shall immediately reside with United States military authorities, if they so request, from the commission of the offense until completion of all judicial proceedings.” Under the same accord, the Philippines may demand custody if the case is considered an “extraordinary circumstance.”
But a joint congressional committee Jan. 19 recommended that President Arroyo abrogate the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and scrap the joint anti-terrorism military exercises.
The Legislative Oversight Committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement approved on Jan. 19 a resolution authored by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago calling for the termination of the VFA, a 1999 accord allowing the conduct of large-scale US military exercises in the country.
Santiago, who co-chairs the oversight committee with Rep. Jose Cuenco, said abrogating the VFA would allow the government to renegotiate a new bilateral accord with Washington that would give more power to the Philippines to take custody of US soldiers who run afoul of the law.
The resolution would then need to be approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives before it could go to Mrs. Arroyo for her approval or veto.
“It appears that the US government has failed to properly take into account the high level of sensitivity with which the Filipino public views the custody of the US servicemen," the committee said in its resolution.
Secretary Gonzales added that the Department of Justice preferred not to waste more energy in pushing for the custody of Lance Corporals Daniel Smith, Keith Silkwood, and Dominic Duplantis; and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier who had been charged with raping a Filipina at the former US naval base in Subic, Zambales province last Nov. 1, 2005.
Earlier, Malacanang cautioned angry Filipinos against making the rape incident an “emotional issue which might affect relations between the Philippines and an old friend and ally” now that the United States Jan. 16 rejected Philippine demand for custody of the four Marines accused of raping a Filipina last November.
Angry demonstrators, including members of Congress, urged the government to continue to press for custody of the Marines. A bipartisan group of members of Congress has called for the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (See separate story inside).
But presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye, speaking for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, tried to soothe the people’s anger by warning against turning it into an emotional issue.
The US embassy in Manila officially conveyed this decision to the Department of Foreign Affairs by diplomatic note. The US assured however that it will “continue to cooperate” with Philippine authorities as the Subic rape case “moves to trial under Philippine jurisdiction, in accordance with the Visiting Forces Agreement."
The US embassy said the decision to retain custody of Dominic Duplantis, Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, and Chad Carpentier who were charged with raping a Filipina in the former American naval base in Subic, Zambales province on Nov. 1, 2005 was allowed under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
“The custody over any United States personnel over whom the Philippines is to exercise jurisdiction shall immediately reside with United States military authorities, if they so request, from the commission of the offense until completion of all judicial proceedings," the embassy said, quoting Article 5, paragraph 6 of the bilateral agreement.
The US assured that it was “committed to seeing that justice was served, and looked forward to a fair and impartial process that could provide for a just outcome.”
The VFA is a bilateral agreement that allows military exercises between the Philippines and the US. The four accused are part of the American contingent that participated in the drills.
After the note was forwarded to the Department of Justice, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales said the Marines can stay under US custody for as long as they would attend the trial in Olongapo city.
Olongapo City Judge Renato Dilag said he might seek custody of the Marines after he decides on a motion for review filed by one of the accused. Unless the petition for review is resolved, the accused cannot be arraigned, Dilag said.
Undersecretary Zosimo Paredes, executive director of the Presidential Commission on the VFA, expressed disappointment over the US decision. “Frankly, I’m disappointed. I was expecting them to turn over the custody to us because of our deep and long-standing friendship,” Paredes told INQ7.net.
Olongapo City Prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni remains optimistic that the case against the US servicemen will be finished even before the expiration of the one-year deadline by which the trial should have been terminated, as provided under the VFA.
“We can still reiterate our request once in the course of the trial there is strong evidence against the Americans. Once it happens, I am confident the US government cannot turn us down," Jalandoni said.
At the same time, Jalandoni said they were banking on the US promise to make the American servicemen available once the trial starts.
Legislators at the Senate and House of Representatives called the US “arrogant and unfair,” demanded the scrapping of the VFA, and urged Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo not to give up on the custody issue.