Palace will let 6 US marines leave RP
By SAM MEDIAVILLA, The Manila Times Reporter
The President’s spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, said Friday that Malacañan will not stop the US government from transferring out of the country the six US Marines charged with raping a 22-year-old Filipina in Subic Freeport.
Bunye said in a press briefing that US authorities can fly the Marines to Okinawa in Japan where their unit is stationed after assuring the Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement that the six will attend court proceedings in the Philippines.
Under the VFA, the Philippines has criminal jurisdiction over the Marines while the US keeps custody of them.
The VFA, however, is silent on where the Marines will stay while in US custody.
The six are said to be detained at the US Embassy in Manila.
Bunye brushed aside calls for the scrapping of the VFA, saying US authorities are fully cooperating on the case.
"I don’t think that demand warranted this time. It would appear that representatives of the US government are complying with the requirements and processes under the VFA. We are confident that justice and due process will be obtained for the victim," he said.
US Marine Capt. Burrel Parmer, the public affairs officer of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Unit, said the US Navy is conducting a parallel investigation into the alleged rape.
"We have our Naval Criminal Investigation Service also investigating for the US side and the Philippines for its side," Parmer told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo on Friday.
He said the six Marines could face a court-martial in the US, depending on the result of the inquiry.
"It’s possible but as I said, we have to wait until the investigation is over. We know preliminary hearings will be held on the 23rd and 26th, so we have to wait until that time," Parmer said.
The charged Marines belong to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Unit that took part in training exercises in Subic last month.
Parmer maintained that the six US Marines are still in the country.
He said the US Marine Corps is taking the incident very seriously and is working closely with the US Embassy and Philippine government officials.
The family of the rape victim will not agree to any out-of-court settlement with the Marines, Rep. Antonio Cuenco of Cebu City said Friday.
Cuenco, chair of the House committee on foreign relations, said the family of the victim rejected outright any out-of-court settlement when he asked them on his recent visit to Subic.
"The entire family is resolute in pursuing the case. All are supportive of seeking justice for the victim. There will be no out-of-court settlement," he said at the Balitaan sa Rembrandt weekly forum.
Cuenco said he and Rep. Teodoro Locsin of Makati City have offered legal and financial assistance to the family, which came all the way from Zamboanga City to be with the victim.
Cuenco and Locsin are members of the congressional oversight committee on the implementation of the VFA.
"The mother, Susan, rejected our offer of financial assistance. She said that they have enough money because their department stores in Zamboanga City and Davao City are doing well. Evidently, they are rather well-off," Cuenco said.
He also pointed out that the woman was not gang-raped.
"Only one US Navyman, a Sergeant Smith, raped her but it seems the others with him in the van encouraged him to do it. They helped Smith dump her out of the van. Whether the others could be charged with conspiracy is up to the prosecutor," Cuenco said.
He said that in his affidavit the driver of the van swore there was evidently rape because the girl was crying, shouting and struggling as "Sergeant Smith" was violating her. Cuenco cited medicolegal findings of abrasions and bruises in her body.
The Olongapo City prosecutor set a preliminary hearing of the rape case on November 23.
Cuenco said that if any review of the VFA would ensue because of the incident, the issue on custody of suspects should be high on the priority list.
"The VFA is hazy on the issue of custody, but I believe we could persuade the US Embassy to give us custody once charges are filed," he said.
Sen. Mar Roxas said that from his readings of the VFA debates in the Senate, the government could choose to keep custody of US Marines suspected of committing crimes during military exercises in the Philippines.
"The Senate deliberations serve as a useful tool in clarifying the intent of the applicable provision on custody. Sen. [Blas] Ople categorically stated that there can be no automatic termination of Philippine jurisdiction over a crime committed in our country by US Marines," Roxas said.
Ople, who chaired the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, sponsored the VFA on the Senate floor. During the debates, Ople said that although the US could ask for custody of the American suspects, the request must be evaluated "and, therefore, at no point do we relinquish our effective control."
With Anthony Vargas and Efren L. Danao
===
SUBIC RAPE CASE
Don't let suspects leave, Arroyo orders DOJ
By Volt Contreras, Dona Z. Pazzibugan
Inquirer News Service
SEEKING TO PRESERVE WHAT she said is the country's dignity, President Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday ordered her justice secretary to oppose any effort to move out of the Philippines six US Marines accused of raping a young Filipino woman.
The US Embassy indicated it had no such intention.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Ms Arroyo had called him. "She told me that we will not agree to transferring them outside the Philippines," he told reporters.
Gonzales said Ms Arroyo had also ordered prosecutors to "protect the dignity of the country" in handling the rape case.
Acting on Malacanang's orders to confirm the servicemen's presence in the country, Foreign Undersecretary Zosimo Paredes said he had seen them during a meeting at the US Embassy.
The impression he got on meeting them was that they looked so young, probably not any older than the 22-year-old woman they are accused of gang-raping on Nov. 1.
The incident has revived old hurts in the sometimes stormy relations between two historic allies.
The six Marines appeared to be "as young as the complainant herself," said Paredes, recalling his meeting with the group the other day.
"Ang babata na mukhang mga bagong salta (They're so young that they look like new recruits)," Paredes, an alumnus of the Philippine Military Academy Class '71, told the Inquirer yesterday in Filipino.
He said that upon orders from Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, he asked for the meeting "not to investigate" the case but just to verify the servicemen's presence in the country.
He said he merely informed the servicemen and the lawyers of the purpose of his coming.
"Until then, we were just taking their (embassy's) word for it (that the soldiers were still here)," Paredes said.
By his reckoning, he said, their average age must also be around 22 years old. The most senior-looking was the one identified in the rape complaint as Carpenter, he said.
The six servicemen have been subpoenaed to appear before Olongapo City prosecutors on Nov. 23 and 29 in connection with the alleged rape of the woman in a van in the Subic Bay Freeport.
In his capacity as executive director of the Presidential Commission of the Visiting Forces Agreement, Paredes said, he met the six accused and their "two Filipino lawyers," at around 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
Later, Paredes had a one-on-one meeting with US Charg‚ d'Affaires Paul Jones who, he said, assured him that "they won't let one case destroy the relationship of nations."
Paredes said he did not talk with any of the servicemen or with their lawyers (Story on Page A1), whom Paredes did not identify. He was introduced to them by Paul O'friel, the embassy's political officer.
In civilian clothes
The soldiers maintained silence during the meeting that lasted less than an hour in one of the embassy's conference rooms, he recounted.
He said he could not tell the soldiers' ranks as they were in civilian clothes when presented at the meeting. In previous interviews, the undersecretary said he was certain they were enlisted men and not officers.
In his meeting with Jones, Paredes said the American diplomat was "nasasaktan" (hurt) when media reports on the rape case tend to "give the impression that the US is running away from responsibility."
No intention
Following reports that unofficial requests had been made to transfer the six accused to their Marines home base in Okinawa, Japan, Paredes said his conversation with Jones revealed "no intention like that."
The US Embassy and Paredes himself have denied the reports.
Later, in a radio interview, Paredes said that if not for the Visiting Forces Agreement ratified in 1999, US soldiers, like those accused in the Olongapo City rape case, "could have long escaped, just like what happened during the time of the US bases."
US also investigating
Paredes was referring to past cases of American servicemen being able to leave the country despite pending criminal cases rousing the wrath of Filipino nationalists.
A spokesperson for the US 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, to which the suspects are assigned, said American authorities were also holding a parallel investigation of the suspects, but gave no details.
"We have our Naval Criminal Investigation Service also investigating for the US side and then the Philippines on their side is investigating," Capt. Burrell Parmer said in a chance interview in Camp Aguinaldo.
Parmer said the US Embassy and the Department of State are the lead agencies in the American investigation.
He said the six suspects had already given their statements to investigators, but he refused to divulge what the suspects said.
Possible court-martial
Parmer said he personally talked to the suspects but again would not give details.
In response to a question, Parmer said the six could possibly face court-martial if the investigation found enough evidence against them.
"It's possible but like I said, we have to wait until the investigation is over," Palmer said. "We know that there are preliminary hearings (in Olongapo) ... so we have to wait until that time. Let's see what happens."
Reporters chanced upon Parmer at the Armed Forces public information office where he distributed magazines about the recently concluded joint military exercises dubbed Talon Vision and Amphibious Landing Exercise.
Embassy clearance needed
The six rape suspects are part of the American unit that participated in the exercises.
The rape complaint filed with Olongapo prosecutor's office identified the US servicemen as Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Dominic Duplantis, Corey Barris and Chad Carpenter.
Parmer declined to give any information about the six suspects, not even their ranks and years in the service.
"I've said it's an alleged incident that is under investigation. We cannot disclose the names or personal information about the six Marines until the embassy gives us clearance," he said.
Parmer again hedged when asked if the six Marines were under detention.
"What I could say right now is that they are under custody. I can't disclose what type of custody they may be. The embassy would give you a better answer," he said. With Inquirer wires
==
MALAYA ON-LINE
Gloria: Reject plea to transfer Marines
JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday said he has been told by President Arroyo to reject any US plea to transfer six US Marines accused of gang rape by a Filipina in Subic last November 1 to their home base in Okinawa.
"She just called me up in line with her earlier order to protect the dignity of the country. This only shows that the President is not oblivious to the public’s sentiments and opinion that says the accused should stay," he said.
Gonzalez said that government is prepared to oppose any attempt on the part of the US government to ship out the accused servicemen.
He said the country would consider it an "affront" if the US government will allow the accused soldiers to be transferred to their military base in Okinawa.
SBMA deputy administrator Jose Calimlim said in a television interview that the US Embassy has asked that the trial be moved to the 31st US Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa where the accused Keith Silkwood, Albert Lara, Corey Barris, Chad Carpentier and Daniel Smith and Dominic Duplantis are based.
The Olongapo Prosecutor’s Office has sent subpoenas to the accused and these were received by the US embassy in Manila which has custody over them.
On the need to review the VFA, Gonzalez said the government cannot unilaterally renegotiate "in the middle of the game" the terms and conditions of the agreement despite glaring incongruities such as soldiers committing criminal acts in their free time.
"There is room for review of the VFA, but that has to be ratified by the Senate. Any review to be done would be bilateral. Both parties have to sit together to negotiate the provisions that they wanted reviewed," he said.
Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said their group, Gabriela and other militant organizations will stage a caravan from Manila to Olongapo in time for the start of the preliminary investigation on November 22 at the Hall of Justice. He said they would also hold a vigil.
"We will go to Olongapo to show our support for the victim and her family and to show the government that the people are closely watching the developments of the case. Public opinion is very important at this point because it is the only deterrent we have against possible maneuvers by the US government," Reyes said.
Sen. Manny Villar, vice chair of the committee on foreign relations, said 13 VFA-related incidents have been recorded from 2000 to 2005, ranging from vehicular accidents and oil spillage to accidental shooting and mauling.
"We should really analyze if the VFA is more disadvantageous for us than beneficial," he said.
The VFA-related incidents include vehicular accidents in Zamboanga, Davao del Sur and Puerto Princesa; accidental shooting in Zamboanga; alleged human waste spillage and oil spill in Subic Bay; objection of the Subanen tribe to the holding of military exercise in their area in Zamboanga; involvement of US forces in firefights with Abu Sayyaf members; emergency landing of US helicopters that destroyed a rice field in Zambales; and mauling in Cebu City where three sailors beat up a taxi driver over a fare altercation.
"Based on the document, sometime in 2002, a US soldier also did a Rambo-like act when he brandished an assault weapon while his companions were withdrawing money from a bank in Zamboanga City," Villar said.
"There was also an incident in Cebu which resulted in the death of two boys. The boys pried open an unspent shell they recovered from a firing range in Toledo, Cebu," Villar said.
"Almost all of these VFA-related incidents or cases have been resolved. In most instances, fines or payments for physical injuries and damages to properties were just given or paid, then the charges were dropped or resolved," he said.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye dismissed proposals to rescind or at least review the VFA saying it was thoroughly studied and debated.
He said VFA Commission chair Zosimo Paredes is satisfied with the cooperation of US officials in the investigation and their assurance that the accused would be available if needed. – Evangeline de Vera, JP Lopez and Jocelyn Montemayor
===
Japan trial sa Subic rape pinalagan
(Grace Velasco/Boyet Jadulco/Nilo Marasigan) ABANTE
Mariing tututulan ng Department of Justice (DOJ) ang kahilingan ng Embahada ng Amerika na mailipat sa Okinawa, Japan ang pagdinig sa kasong rape laban sa anim na US servicemen.
Ayon kay Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, hindi maaring litisin sa ibang lugar ang mga akusado dahil dito sa Pilipinas naganap ang insidente at dito rin isinampa ang kaso.
Iginiit ng kalihim na nasa ilalim ng hurisdiksyon ng Pilipinas ang kaso kaya’t ang paglilipat ng pagdinig dito pabor sa mga akusadong Amerikano ay malinaw na pagsagasa sa mga batas na umiiral sa bansa.
"We will not let that to happen. We will certainly oppose that because the case is within our jurisdiction," ani Gonzalez.
Nauna nang napaulat na sinabi umano ni Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator Jose Calimlim na idinulog na ng US Embassy ang posibleng paglilipat ng pagdinig sa naturang kaso sa Okinawa, Japan kung saan nakabase ang mga akusadong US Marines.
Samantala, nagbaba si Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago na itutulak niya ang pagrebyu ng VFA sa oras na itakas ng US government ang anim na marino patungo sa kanilang military base sa Japan.
"It will have a very serious repercussions," pagdidiin ni Santiago.
Kahit na umano mag-request ang US government, maaari naman itong tanggihan ng ating pamahalaan kung hihilingin natin na isalang sa ating custody ang anim na suspek alinsunod sa Article 5, Section 10 ng VFA.
Kinastigo rin ni Santiago ang mga sundalong Amerikano dahil parang sa pakiwari nila ay mga puta ang mga kababaihan sa Pilipinas.
"Filipina women are not sex object!" pagdidiin ng senadora.
Kaugnay nito, aabutin pa ng hanggang 3-4 na linggo bago mailabas ng PNP-Crime Laboratory ang resulta ng isinasagawang DNA test sa mga suspek sa Subic rape.
Sinabi ni Chief Insp. Francisco Suque, DNA chief ng PNP-Crime Laboratory na kabilang sa susuriin ang narekober na condom sa lugar ng krimen at sa underwear ng biktima
The President’s spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, said Friday that Malacañan will not stop the US government from transferring out of the country the six US Marines charged with raping a 22-year-old Filipina in Subic Freeport.
Bunye said in a press briefing that US authorities can fly the Marines to Okinawa in Japan where their unit is stationed after assuring the Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement that the six will attend court proceedings in the Philippines.
Under the VFA, the Philippines has criminal jurisdiction over the Marines while the US keeps custody of them.
The VFA, however, is silent on where the Marines will stay while in US custody.
The six are said to be detained at the US Embassy in Manila.
Bunye brushed aside calls for the scrapping of the VFA, saying US authorities are fully cooperating on the case.
"I don’t think that demand warranted this time. It would appear that representatives of the US government are complying with the requirements and processes under the VFA. We are confident that justice and due process will be obtained for the victim," he said.
US Marine Capt. Burrel Parmer, the public affairs officer of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Unit, said the US Navy is conducting a parallel investigation into the alleged rape.
"We have our Naval Criminal Investigation Service also investigating for the US side and the Philippines for its side," Parmer told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo on Friday.
He said the six Marines could face a court-martial in the US, depending on the result of the inquiry.
"It’s possible but as I said, we have to wait until the investigation is over. We know preliminary hearings will be held on the 23rd and 26th, so we have to wait until that time," Parmer said.
The charged Marines belong to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Unit that took part in training exercises in Subic last month.
Parmer maintained that the six US Marines are still in the country.
He said the US Marine Corps is taking the incident very seriously and is working closely with the US Embassy and Philippine government officials.
The family of the rape victim will not agree to any out-of-court settlement with the Marines, Rep. Antonio Cuenco of Cebu City said Friday.
Cuenco, chair of the House committee on foreign relations, said the family of the victim rejected outright any out-of-court settlement when he asked them on his recent visit to Subic.
"The entire family is resolute in pursuing the case. All are supportive of seeking justice for the victim. There will be no out-of-court settlement," he said at the Balitaan sa Rembrandt weekly forum.
Cuenco said he and Rep. Teodoro Locsin of Makati City have offered legal and financial assistance to the family, which came all the way from Zamboanga City to be with the victim.
Cuenco and Locsin are members of the congressional oversight committee on the implementation of the VFA.
"The mother, Susan, rejected our offer of financial assistance. She said that they have enough money because their department stores in Zamboanga City and Davao City are doing well. Evidently, they are rather well-off," Cuenco said.
He also pointed out that the woman was not gang-raped.
"Only one US Navyman, a Sergeant Smith, raped her but it seems the others with him in the van encouraged him to do it. They helped Smith dump her out of the van. Whether the others could be charged with conspiracy is up to the prosecutor," Cuenco said.
He said that in his affidavit the driver of the van swore there was evidently rape because the girl was crying, shouting and struggling as "Sergeant Smith" was violating her. Cuenco cited medicolegal findings of abrasions and bruises in her body.
The Olongapo City prosecutor set a preliminary hearing of the rape case on November 23.
Cuenco said that if any review of the VFA would ensue because of the incident, the issue on custody of suspects should be high on the priority list.
"The VFA is hazy on the issue of custody, but I believe we could persuade the US Embassy to give us custody once charges are filed," he said.
Sen. Mar Roxas said that from his readings of the VFA debates in the Senate, the government could choose to keep custody of US Marines suspected of committing crimes during military exercises in the Philippines.
"The Senate deliberations serve as a useful tool in clarifying the intent of the applicable provision on custody. Sen. [Blas] Ople categorically stated that there can be no automatic termination of Philippine jurisdiction over a crime committed in our country by US Marines," Roxas said.
Ople, who chaired the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, sponsored the VFA on the Senate floor. During the debates, Ople said that although the US could ask for custody of the American suspects, the request must be evaluated "and, therefore, at no point do we relinquish our effective control."
With Anthony Vargas and Efren L. Danao
===
SUBIC RAPE CASE
Don't let suspects leave, Arroyo orders DOJ
By Volt Contreras, Dona Z. Pazzibugan
Inquirer News Service
SEEKING TO PRESERVE WHAT she said is the country's dignity, President Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday ordered her justice secretary to oppose any effort to move out of the Philippines six US Marines accused of raping a young Filipino woman.
The US Embassy indicated it had no such intention.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Ms Arroyo had called him. "She told me that we will not agree to transferring them outside the Philippines," he told reporters.
Gonzales said Ms Arroyo had also ordered prosecutors to "protect the dignity of the country" in handling the rape case.
Acting on Malacanang's orders to confirm the servicemen's presence in the country, Foreign Undersecretary Zosimo Paredes said he had seen them during a meeting at the US Embassy.
The impression he got on meeting them was that they looked so young, probably not any older than the 22-year-old woman they are accused of gang-raping on Nov. 1.
The incident has revived old hurts in the sometimes stormy relations between two historic allies.
The six Marines appeared to be "as young as the complainant herself," said Paredes, recalling his meeting with the group the other day.
"Ang babata na mukhang mga bagong salta (They're so young that they look like new recruits)," Paredes, an alumnus of the Philippine Military Academy Class '71, told the Inquirer yesterday in Filipino.
He said that upon orders from Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, he asked for the meeting "not to investigate" the case but just to verify the servicemen's presence in the country.
He said he merely informed the servicemen and the lawyers of the purpose of his coming.
"Until then, we were just taking their (embassy's) word for it (that the soldiers were still here)," Paredes said.
By his reckoning, he said, their average age must also be around 22 years old. The most senior-looking was the one identified in the rape complaint as Carpenter, he said.
The six servicemen have been subpoenaed to appear before Olongapo City prosecutors on Nov. 23 and 29 in connection with the alleged rape of the woman in a van in the Subic Bay Freeport.
In his capacity as executive director of the Presidential Commission of the Visiting Forces Agreement, Paredes said, he met the six accused and their "two Filipino lawyers," at around 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
Later, Paredes had a one-on-one meeting with US Charg‚ d'Affaires Paul Jones who, he said, assured him that "they won't let one case destroy the relationship of nations."
Paredes said he did not talk with any of the servicemen or with their lawyers (Story on Page A1), whom Paredes did not identify. He was introduced to them by Paul O'friel, the embassy's political officer.
In civilian clothes
The soldiers maintained silence during the meeting that lasted less than an hour in one of the embassy's conference rooms, he recounted.
He said he could not tell the soldiers' ranks as they were in civilian clothes when presented at the meeting. In previous interviews, the undersecretary said he was certain they were enlisted men and not officers.
In his meeting with Jones, Paredes said the American diplomat was "nasasaktan" (hurt) when media reports on the rape case tend to "give the impression that the US is running away from responsibility."
No intention
Following reports that unofficial requests had been made to transfer the six accused to their Marines home base in Okinawa, Japan, Paredes said his conversation with Jones revealed "no intention like that."
The US Embassy and Paredes himself have denied the reports.
Later, in a radio interview, Paredes said that if not for the Visiting Forces Agreement ratified in 1999, US soldiers, like those accused in the Olongapo City rape case, "could have long escaped, just like what happened during the time of the US bases."
US also investigating
Paredes was referring to past cases of American servicemen being able to leave the country despite pending criminal cases rousing the wrath of Filipino nationalists.
A spokesperson for the US 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, to which the suspects are assigned, said American authorities were also holding a parallel investigation of the suspects, but gave no details.
"We have our Naval Criminal Investigation Service also investigating for the US side and then the Philippines on their side is investigating," Capt. Burrell Parmer said in a chance interview in Camp Aguinaldo.
Parmer said the US Embassy and the Department of State are the lead agencies in the American investigation.
He said the six suspects had already given their statements to investigators, but he refused to divulge what the suspects said.
Possible court-martial
Parmer said he personally talked to the suspects but again would not give details.
In response to a question, Parmer said the six could possibly face court-martial if the investigation found enough evidence against them.
"It's possible but like I said, we have to wait until the investigation is over," Palmer said. "We know that there are preliminary hearings (in Olongapo) ... so we have to wait until that time. Let's see what happens."
Reporters chanced upon Parmer at the Armed Forces public information office where he distributed magazines about the recently concluded joint military exercises dubbed Talon Vision and Amphibious Landing Exercise.
Embassy clearance needed
The six rape suspects are part of the American unit that participated in the exercises.
The rape complaint filed with Olongapo prosecutor's office identified the US servicemen as Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Dominic Duplantis, Corey Barris and Chad Carpenter.
Parmer declined to give any information about the six suspects, not even their ranks and years in the service.
"I've said it's an alleged incident that is under investigation. We cannot disclose the names or personal information about the six Marines until the embassy gives us clearance," he said.
Parmer again hedged when asked if the six Marines were under detention.
"What I could say right now is that they are under custody. I can't disclose what type of custody they may be. The embassy would give you a better answer," he said. With Inquirer wires
==
MALAYA ON-LINE
Gloria: Reject plea to transfer Marines
JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday said he has been told by President Arroyo to reject any US plea to transfer six US Marines accused of gang rape by a Filipina in Subic last November 1 to their home base in Okinawa.
"She just called me up in line with her earlier order to protect the dignity of the country. This only shows that the President is not oblivious to the public’s sentiments and opinion that says the accused should stay," he said.
Gonzalez said that government is prepared to oppose any attempt on the part of the US government to ship out the accused servicemen.
He said the country would consider it an "affront" if the US government will allow the accused soldiers to be transferred to their military base in Okinawa.
SBMA deputy administrator Jose Calimlim said in a television interview that the US Embassy has asked that the trial be moved to the 31st US Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa where the accused Keith Silkwood, Albert Lara, Corey Barris, Chad Carpentier and Daniel Smith and Dominic Duplantis are based.
The Olongapo Prosecutor’s Office has sent subpoenas to the accused and these were received by the US embassy in Manila which has custody over them.
On the need to review the VFA, Gonzalez said the government cannot unilaterally renegotiate "in the middle of the game" the terms and conditions of the agreement despite glaring incongruities such as soldiers committing criminal acts in their free time.
"There is room for review of the VFA, but that has to be ratified by the Senate. Any review to be done would be bilateral. Both parties have to sit together to negotiate the provisions that they wanted reviewed," he said.
Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said their group, Gabriela and other militant organizations will stage a caravan from Manila to Olongapo in time for the start of the preliminary investigation on November 22 at the Hall of Justice. He said they would also hold a vigil.
"We will go to Olongapo to show our support for the victim and her family and to show the government that the people are closely watching the developments of the case. Public opinion is very important at this point because it is the only deterrent we have against possible maneuvers by the US government," Reyes said.
Sen. Manny Villar, vice chair of the committee on foreign relations, said 13 VFA-related incidents have been recorded from 2000 to 2005, ranging from vehicular accidents and oil spillage to accidental shooting and mauling.
"We should really analyze if the VFA is more disadvantageous for us than beneficial," he said.
The VFA-related incidents include vehicular accidents in Zamboanga, Davao del Sur and Puerto Princesa; accidental shooting in Zamboanga; alleged human waste spillage and oil spill in Subic Bay; objection of the Subanen tribe to the holding of military exercise in their area in Zamboanga; involvement of US forces in firefights with Abu Sayyaf members; emergency landing of US helicopters that destroyed a rice field in Zambales; and mauling in Cebu City where three sailors beat up a taxi driver over a fare altercation.
"Based on the document, sometime in 2002, a US soldier also did a Rambo-like act when he brandished an assault weapon while his companions were withdrawing money from a bank in Zamboanga City," Villar said.
"There was also an incident in Cebu which resulted in the death of two boys. The boys pried open an unspent shell they recovered from a firing range in Toledo, Cebu," Villar said.
"Almost all of these VFA-related incidents or cases have been resolved. In most instances, fines or payments for physical injuries and damages to properties were just given or paid, then the charges were dropped or resolved," he said.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye dismissed proposals to rescind or at least review the VFA saying it was thoroughly studied and debated.
He said VFA Commission chair Zosimo Paredes is satisfied with the cooperation of US officials in the investigation and their assurance that the accused would be available if needed. – Evangeline de Vera, JP Lopez and Jocelyn Montemayor
===
Japan trial sa Subic rape pinalagan
(Grace Velasco/Boyet Jadulco/Nilo Marasigan) ABANTE
Mariing tututulan ng Department of Justice (DOJ) ang kahilingan ng Embahada ng Amerika na mailipat sa Okinawa, Japan ang pagdinig sa kasong rape laban sa anim na US servicemen.
Ayon kay Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, hindi maaring litisin sa ibang lugar ang mga akusado dahil dito sa Pilipinas naganap ang insidente at dito rin isinampa ang kaso.
Iginiit ng kalihim na nasa ilalim ng hurisdiksyon ng Pilipinas ang kaso kaya’t ang paglilipat ng pagdinig dito pabor sa mga akusadong Amerikano ay malinaw na pagsagasa sa mga batas na umiiral sa bansa.
"We will not let that to happen. We will certainly oppose that because the case is within our jurisdiction," ani Gonzalez.
Nauna nang napaulat na sinabi umano ni Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator Jose Calimlim na idinulog na ng US Embassy ang posibleng paglilipat ng pagdinig sa naturang kaso sa Okinawa, Japan kung saan nakabase ang mga akusadong US Marines.
Samantala, nagbaba si Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago na itutulak niya ang pagrebyu ng VFA sa oras na itakas ng US government ang anim na marino patungo sa kanilang military base sa Japan.
"It will have a very serious repercussions," pagdidiin ni Santiago.
Kahit na umano mag-request ang US government, maaari naman itong tanggihan ng ating pamahalaan kung hihilingin natin na isalang sa ating custody ang anim na suspek alinsunod sa Article 5, Section 10 ng VFA.
Kinastigo rin ni Santiago ang mga sundalong Amerikano dahil parang sa pakiwari nila ay mga puta ang mga kababaihan sa Pilipinas.
"Filipina women are not sex object!" pagdidiin ng senadora.
Kaugnay nito, aabutin pa ng hanggang 3-4 na linggo bago mailabas ng PNP-Crime Laboratory ang resulta ng isinasagawang DNA test sa mga suspek sa Subic rape.
Sinabi ni Chief Insp. Francisco Suque, DNA chief ng PNP-Crime Laboratory na kabilang sa susuriin ang narekober na condom sa lugar ng krimen at sa underwear ng biktima
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
10:11 AM
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