2 senators press RP custody of 4 GIs
Cite case of arrested US sailor in Japan
By TJ Burgonio, Leila B. Salaverria, Nikko Dizon, Inquirer
THE PHILIPPINES should take its cue from Japan and stop acting "like colonials" in seeking custody of four US Marines charged with raping a Filipino woman, Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Richard Gordon said yesterday.
"I guess our DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) officials can use Japan as an example," Pimentel said in a text message. "We're a second-rate country that's run by third-rate officials who act like colonials," said the Senate minority leader.
Gordon said the Department of Justice and the DFA "should have a stronger backbone in asserting that custody, judicially and diplomatically, is of paramount importance to our people."
"This will lead to a healthier relationship between the United States and the Philippines. Otherwise, Filipinos will always feel that they're victims throughout history because we did not assert enough to have a relationship of first among equals," he said.
In Japan, police arrested a US sailor they had accused of robbing and fatally beating a woman in a case that could stoke opposition to the American military presence in the country.
The US Navy handed over William Oliver Reese, 21, to Kanagawa Prefectural Police on Saturday to face charges in the Jan. 3 killing, The Associated Press said in a dispatch from Tokyo.
Japanese authorities say Reese also robbed Yoshie Sato, 56, of 15,000 yen ($129) on Yokosuka Street near the US naval base, 45 km southwest of Tokyo.
US stalling
In contrast, the US military has stalled on the Philippine government's repeated demands to hand over the four Marines accused of raping a 22-year-old woman inside a van at the Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales province in November.
The four were Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier and Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis, Daniel Smith and Keith Silkwood. Charged with them was Timoteo Soriano Jr., the Filipino driver of the van.
Gordon stressed that the US government should turn over custody of the four accused to the Philippine government "out of respect" for its longtime ally.
Unless the Americans respected the Filipinos' desire for the government to assert sovereignty and gain custody of the accused, the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) "would be put to the test," he said.
"The reliability of the Philippines as an ally does not depend on these four servicemen who did a crime off-duty. We're a reliable ally because of the VFA, and we've agreed to train each other because of the VFA," he added.
Arrest warrants
But Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday said the Philippines should wait first for the arrest warrants to be issued against the US servicemen before insisting on gaining custody of them.
If the United States ignores the warrant, then that is when the country should assert its desire to be in charge of the suspects, Gonzalez said when asked about the Japan case.
"We will first wait for the results of the hearing in court," Gonzalez said in a phone interview. "All these things will be academic if the court issues a warrant. Let us not try to anticipate what will happen. If the United States refuses to surrender them, then that is the time for us to negotiate."
Olongapo Judge Renato Dilag, who is handling the rape case, has not yet issued arrest warrants for the suspects. He still has to resolve the six motions filed by the accused. The motions seek judicial determination of probable cause or a stay of arrest.
Gonzalez also said Japan's accord with the United States and Manila's agreement with the US might be different from each other. He pointed out that under the VFA, the United States could have custody of its servicemen accused of a crime.
The VFA also provides that the Philippines could request custody of the suspects under special circumstances. The Philippines formally sought custody of the accused servicemen in November, but the United States never even responded to the letter.
US cooperation in Japan
In Japan, the US military has pledged to work closely with the Japanese police on the case. High-level American officials, including Ambassador Thomas Schieffer, have expressed regret over the attack.
The case comes at an important juncture for the US military in Japan. Washington and Tokyo are working to overcome local opposition to plans to build an American military airstrip on the southern island of Okinawa, and to base a US nuclear-powered warship at Yokosuka for the first time.
In 1995, the rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US servicemen on Okinawa set off large and emotional anti-US military protests, and led to the relocation of an air base to a less densely populated part of the island.
The rape case also resulted in an agreement that the US military would hand over American suspects in serious crimes to Japanese authorities for pre-indictment investigation.
About 50,000 US troops are stationed in Japan under a joint security pact, but Tokyo and Washington agreed last October to move 7,000 Marines from Okinawa to the US Pacific island territory of Guam, and to shift some other troops within Japan.
A Philippine official, who requested anonymity because he is involved in the ongoing negotiations, said Japan was in a better position than the Philippines to assert its sovereignty in a criminal case.
He pointed out that Japan's advantage included better terms under its Status of Force Agreement (Sofa) with the United States. With an Associated Press report
THE PHILIPPINES should take its cue from Japan and stop acting "like colonials" in seeking custody of four US Marines charged with raping a Filipino woman, Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Richard Gordon said yesterday.
"I guess our DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) officials can use Japan as an example," Pimentel said in a text message. "We're a second-rate country that's run by third-rate officials who act like colonials," said the Senate minority leader.
Gordon said the Department of Justice and the DFA "should have a stronger backbone in asserting that custody, judicially and diplomatically, is of paramount importance to our people."
"This will lead to a healthier relationship between the United States and the Philippines. Otherwise, Filipinos will always feel that they're victims throughout history because we did not assert enough to have a relationship of first among equals," he said.
In Japan, police arrested a US sailor they had accused of robbing and fatally beating a woman in a case that could stoke opposition to the American military presence in the country.
The US Navy handed over William Oliver Reese, 21, to Kanagawa Prefectural Police on Saturday to face charges in the Jan. 3 killing, The Associated Press said in a dispatch from Tokyo.
Japanese authorities say Reese also robbed Yoshie Sato, 56, of 15,000 yen ($129) on Yokosuka Street near the US naval base, 45 km southwest of Tokyo.
US stalling
In contrast, the US military has stalled on the Philippine government's repeated demands to hand over the four Marines accused of raping a 22-year-old woman inside a van at the Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales province in November.
The four were Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier and Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis, Daniel Smith and Keith Silkwood. Charged with them was Timoteo Soriano Jr., the Filipino driver of the van.
Gordon stressed that the US government should turn over custody of the four accused to the Philippine government "out of respect" for its longtime ally.
Unless the Americans respected the Filipinos' desire for the government to assert sovereignty and gain custody of the accused, the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) "would be put to the test," he said.
"The reliability of the Philippines as an ally does not depend on these four servicemen who did a crime off-duty. We're a reliable ally because of the VFA, and we've agreed to train each other because of the VFA," he added.
Arrest warrants
But Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday said the Philippines should wait first for the arrest warrants to be issued against the US servicemen before insisting on gaining custody of them.
If the United States ignores the warrant, then that is when the country should assert its desire to be in charge of the suspects, Gonzalez said when asked about the Japan case.
"We will first wait for the results of the hearing in court," Gonzalez said in a phone interview. "All these things will be academic if the court issues a warrant. Let us not try to anticipate what will happen. If the United States refuses to surrender them, then that is the time for us to negotiate."
Olongapo Judge Renato Dilag, who is handling the rape case, has not yet issued arrest warrants for the suspects. He still has to resolve the six motions filed by the accused. The motions seek judicial determination of probable cause or a stay of arrest.
Gonzalez also said Japan's accord with the United States and Manila's agreement with the US might be different from each other. He pointed out that under the VFA, the United States could have custody of its servicemen accused of a crime.
The VFA also provides that the Philippines could request custody of the suspects under special circumstances. The Philippines formally sought custody of the accused servicemen in November, but the United States never even responded to the letter.
US cooperation in Japan
In Japan, the US military has pledged to work closely with the Japanese police on the case. High-level American officials, including Ambassador Thomas Schieffer, have expressed regret over the attack.
The case comes at an important juncture for the US military in Japan. Washington and Tokyo are working to overcome local opposition to plans to build an American military airstrip on the southern island of Okinawa, and to base a US nuclear-powered warship at Yokosuka for the first time.
In 1995, the rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US servicemen on Okinawa set off large and emotional anti-US military protests, and led to the relocation of an air base to a less densely populated part of the island.
The rape case also resulted in an agreement that the US military would hand over American suspects in serious crimes to Japanese authorities for pre-indictment investigation.
About 50,000 US troops are stationed in Japan under a joint security pact, but Tokyo and Washington agreed last October to move 7,000 Marines from Okinawa to the US Pacific island territory of Guam, and to shift some other troops within Japan.
A Philippine official, who requested anonymity because he is involved in the ongoing negotiations, said Japan was in a better position than the Philippines to assert its sovereignty in a criminal case.
He pointed out that Japan's advantage included better terms under its Status of Force Agreement (Sofa) with the United States. With an Associated Press report
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
7:29 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home