Court: Arrest Americans
By Malou Dungog, Manila Standard
OLONGAPO CITY — Arrest warrants were issued yesterday against four US marines accused of raping a Filipina in Subic last Nov. 1, officials said.
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Gilbert Asuque said the warrants would be served by justice department sheriffs to the four suspects who are in the custody of the US embassy in Manila.
“But the issue of the actual arrest will have to take into account the treaty obligations of the Philippines,” Asuque added, referring to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that allows the US embassy to retain custody of the suspects while they are on trial.
The government has sought custody under a treaty provision that allows it in “extraordinary” cases, but Washington has not responded to Manila’s request, which was filed almost two months ago, on Nov. 16.
A lawyer of the complainant, Maria Shiela Bazar, said local custody is a big issue because conviction will have no effect if the government cannot enforce its laws or get primary jurisdiction over the suspects.
For his part, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the issuance of the warrants is no guarantee that the suspects will be turned over to the local authorities.
“Our service of the warrant has no extraterritorial (authority),” he said. “We are just hopeful that they will accommodate us.”
In issuing the warrants, Judge Renato Dilag of the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court Branch 73 said the two governments must now sort out whether the four American soldiers — Daniel Smith, Chad Carpentier, Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood — can be turned over to the local police.
The suspects have said in depositions to prosecutors that only one of them had sex with the 22-year-old woman, and that it was a consensual act.
The complainant said she was raped in their rented van.
The Filipino driver, Timoteo Soriano Jr., had originally been included as a coconspirator when he repudiated his first statement implicating the four US marines, claiming he was coerced into testifying against them.
Dilag, however, ruled yesterday that there was no probable cause to indict Soriano as a coconspirator, and that his inclusion seemed to be an afterthought.
“Apparently, had Soriano stuck to his first statement, no matter how flawed and questionable it may be, he would not have been included by the prosecutor as one of the respondents in this case,” Dilag said.
In finding probable cause against the four US servicemen, Dilag denied defense motions to defer or suspend proceedings pending a justice department review.
In an interview with Radio Mindanao Network, Dilag said local authorities can exhaust diplomatic means to gain custody of the suspects.
“After all we are a civilized nation and we adhere to the tenets of international law,” he said. “The strong arm of the law is not necessary at this point.”
US embassy spokesman Matt Lussenhop would not comment on the arrest warrant but reiterated that “the VFA allows the United States to retain custody till the end of judicial proceedings.”
Asuque, for his part, said there will be diplomatic negotiations to enforce the arrest, noting that even Dilag conceded in his resolution that the arrest of the four Americans might have to wait, pending the negotiations.
He said a team from the department was “constructively engaged with the US embassy to enforce the procedural law.”
Asuque also said DFA is waiting for guidance from the Department of Justice on how to proceed with the serving of the warrants.
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) officer-in-charge Nestor Mantaring, for his part, said the bureau received the arrest warrants yesterday, and said the four servicemen would be held at NBI detention center in Manila once they are arrested.
Mantaring said NBI will inform the justice department and DFA about the warrant, after which DFA will send a note verbale to the US embassy, informing them that the warrants have been issued.
“Once the US embassy has surrendered the accused to DFA, that’s the time we will serve the arrest warrant,” he said. “This is a country-to-country affair and we cannot force them.”
Mantaring said no hold-departure order has been issued against the four accused, but added that the terms of VFA prohibit the US embassy from allowing them to leave the country.
The embassy must also present them in court during the trial, he said.
Gonzalez, on the other hand, said he expects the warrants to reach the justice department by Monday.
“If the warrant is sent here it must be accompanied by a process server (from the court) and we will bring it to the DFA, which will serve the warrant to the US embassy,” he said.
Asked about the petition for a review filed by Carpentier, Gonzalez said the plea would delay his arraignment by the court.
“The law is very clear. It does not prevent the warrant; it only suspends the process,” Gonzalez said.
Under the rules of court, he said, the period of suspension of arraignment cannot exceed 60 days from the filing of the petition of review. With Jaime Pilapil, Joel Zurbano, Rey E. Requejo, AFP
OLONGAPO CITY — Arrest warrants were issued yesterday against four US marines accused of raping a Filipina in Subic last Nov. 1, officials said.
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Gilbert Asuque said the warrants would be served by justice department sheriffs to the four suspects who are in the custody of the US embassy in Manila.
“But the issue of the actual arrest will have to take into account the treaty obligations of the Philippines,” Asuque added, referring to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that allows the US embassy to retain custody of the suspects while they are on trial.
The government has sought custody under a treaty provision that allows it in “extraordinary” cases, but Washington has not responded to Manila’s request, which was filed almost two months ago, on Nov. 16.
A lawyer of the complainant, Maria Shiela Bazar, said local custody is a big issue because conviction will have no effect if the government cannot enforce its laws or get primary jurisdiction over the suspects.
For his part, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the issuance of the warrants is no guarantee that the suspects will be turned over to the local authorities.
“Our service of the warrant has no extraterritorial (authority),” he said. “We are just hopeful that they will accommodate us.”
In issuing the warrants, Judge Renato Dilag of the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court Branch 73 said the two governments must now sort out whether the four American soldiers — Daniel Smith, Chad Carpentier, Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood — can be turned over to the local police.
The suspects have said in depositions to prosecutors that only one of them had sex with the 22-year-old woman, and that it was a consensual act.
The complainant said she was raped in their rented van.
The Filipino driver, Timoteo Soriano Jr., had originally been included as a coconspirator when he repudiated his first statement implicating the four US marines, claiming he was coerced into testifying against them.
Dilag, however, ruled yesterday that there was no probable cause to indict Soriano as a coconspirator, and that his inclusion seemed to be an afterthought.
“Apparently, had Soriano stuck to his first statement, no matter how flawed and questionable it may be, he would not have been included by the prosecutor as one of the respondents in this case,” Dilag said.
In finding probable cause against the four US servicemen, Dilag denied defense motions to defer or suspend proceedings pending a justice department review.
In an interview with Radio Mindanao Network, Dilag said local authorities can exhaust diplomatic means to gain custody of the suspects.
“After all we are a civilized nation and we adhere to the tenets of international law,” he said. “The strong arm of the law is not necessary at this point.”
US embassy spokesman Matt Lussenhop would not comment on the arrest warrant but reiterated that “the VFA allows the United States to retain custody till the end of judicial proceedings.”
Asuque, for his part, said there will be diplomatic negotiations to enforce the arrest, noting that even Dilag conceded in his resolution that the arrest of the four Americans might have to wait, pending the negotiations.
He said a team from the department was “constructively engaged with the US embassy to enforce the procedural law.”
Asuque also said DFA is waiting for guidance from the Department of Justice on how to proceed with the serving of the warrants.
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) officer-in-charge Nestor Mantaring, for his part, said the bureau received the arrest warrants yesterday, and said the four servicemen would be held at NBI detention center in Manila once they are arrested.
Mantaring said NBI will inform the justice department and DFA about the warrant, after which DFA will send a note verbale to the US embassy, informing them that the warrants have been issued.
“Once the US embassy has surrendered the accused to DFA, that’s the time we will serve the arrest warrant,” he said. “This is a country-to-country affair and we cannot force them.”
Mantaring said no hold-departure order has been issued against the four accused, but added that the terms of VFA prohibit the US embassy from allowing them to leave the country.
The embassy must also present them in court during the trial, he said.
Gonzalez, on the other hand, said he expects the warrants to reach the justice department by Monday.
“If the warrant is sent here it must be accompanied by a process server (from the court) and we will bring it to the DFA, which will serve the warrant to the US embassy,” he said.
Asked about the petition for a review filed by Carpentier, Gonzalez said the plea would delay his arraignment by the court.
“The law is very clear. It does not prevent the warrant; it only suspends the process,” Gonzalez said.
Under the rules of court, he said, the period of suspension of arraignment cannot exceed 60 days from the filing of the petition of review. With Jaime Pilapil, Joel Zurbano, Rey E. Requejo, AFP
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