Manila must have custody of marines, Palace opines
By Joyce Pangco Pañares , Manila Standard
FOR the first time since the Subic rape case drew national attention, Malacañang has insisted on gaining custody of the four American servicemen charged with the crime.
Palace Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the marines, held in the US embassy in Manila since November over the rape of a 22-year-old Filipina, must be turned over to Philippine authorities since they were formally charged last Tuesday.
”They have already been formally charged, and the DoJ (Department of Justice) and the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) will make sure that they will be turned over to us,” Bunye said in a phone interview yesterday.
The statement was a complete turnaround from Malacañang’s earlier position that custody of the marines should not be a priority as long as the accused remain in the country.
Earlier, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez admitted that Philippine authorities cannot arrest the marines and break the Visiting Forces Agreement unilaterally.
“We have to negotiate with the US to return to us the custody of the accused... that (arrest) can become an unfriendly act with a country that is aligned with us,” Gonzalez said.
Bunye, however, played down speculation that the rape case is eroding Filipino-American ties as VFA is put to the test.
“This is an isolated case. Our relations are much stronger now. It should not be a test of our time-honored friendship with the United States,” Bunye said.
Washington has yet to reply to the government’s request for custody of the marines sent through a note verbale on Nov. 16.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo is scheduled to fly to Washington this weekend to meet with US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice, but DFA played down speculation that the rape case was part of the agenda.
A day before the rape case was to be raffled off to an Olongapo trial court, Romulo reiterated the Philippine position that local authorities can seek custody of the accused under VFA provision on “extraordinary” cases.
Earlier reports that the four US marines were detailed to the Joint US Military Assistance Group (Jusmag) sparked criticism in what is already a politically charged affair.
House Deputy Majority Leader Edcel Lagman of Albay yesterday said the four suspects must be detained pending their trial, just like the Filipino driver of the van where the rape allegedly took place.
Lagman said it was unconstitutional for the accused to hide under the cloak of VFA, which allows the Americans to retain custody of US servicemen accused of crimes in the Philippines.
He called the custody provision “unconstitutional and unenforceable” because under the Constitution, persons charged with a capital offense such as rape must be detained pending trial.
Foreigners, he said, cannot have better rights than Filipinos under Philippine criminal jurisdiction.
Upholding sovereignty cannot be considered an “unfriendly act” against the United States even as surrendering Philippine sovereignty to a foreign power is a reprehensible and unpatriotic act, he said.
Lagman added that the “favorable treatment” accorded the accused American servicemen “infringes on the constitutional precept on the equal protection of the laws, which is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.”
Lagman stressed that VFA ratification by the Senate was immaterial because the senators cannot surrender Philippine sovereignty to the US or exempt American suspects accused of a capital offense from detention or custody by Philippine authorities.
The lawmaker added that the failure of the American Senate to ratify VFA was an affront on the time-honored principle of reciprocity and rendered the agreement nonoperational.
At the justice department, Gonzalez warded off charges that he had bungled the case, and rejected the call of Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo for him to resign.
“I won’t resign. Why should I? Mr. Ocampo does not know how to read. It’s all in the law,” Gonzalez said, adding that the failure of the government to obtain the custody of the four marines should not be attributed to his department.
“There is no issue about the trial. The issue is about custody. But we entered into a treaty, which was ratified by the Senate. I’m quite sure the Americans would not surrender them, Gonzalez said.
The justice secretary said Ocampo should “bomb the US embassy together with his NPAs, if he is so angry” — in a clear reference to suspected links between leftist groups such as Bayan Muna and the New People’s Army, the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
In reply, Ocampo said: “I will not dignify Secretary Gonzalez’s crude insinuation that I can command the New People’s Army to bomb the US embassy... He’s begging the question of his failure to assert Philippine sovereignty and the integrity of Philippine jurisprudence in the Subic rape case.”
Two of the original six servicemen accused of the rape, Correy Burris and Albert Lara, were dropped from the charge sheet for lack of evidence and were subsequently sent back to their base in Okinawa , Japan.
Remaining in the country are the four accused: Chad Carpentier, Dominic Duplantis, Daniel Smith and Keith Silkwood.
Anticrime and women’s rights groups have joined private prosecutors demanding that the government work to put the American suspects in local jails as the case goes to trial. With Rey E. Requejo, Ferdinand Fabella, Christine F. Herrera
FOR the first time since the Subic rape case drew national attention, Malacañang has insisted on gaining custody of the four American servicemen charged with the crime.
Palace Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the marines, held in the US embassy in Manila since November over the rape of a 22-year-old Filipina, must be turned over to Philippine authorities since they were formally charged last Tuesday.
”They have already been formally charged, and the DoJ (Department of Justice) and the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) will make sure that they will be turned over to us,” Bunye said in a phone interview yesterday.
The statement was a complete turnaround from Malacañang’s earlier position that custody of the marines should not be a priority as long as the accused remain in the country.
Earlier, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez admitted that Philippine authorities cannot arrest the marines and break the Visiting Forces Agreement unilaterally.
“We have to negotiate with the US to return to us the custody of the accused... that (arrest) can become an unfriendly act with a country that is aligned with us,” Gonzalez said.
Bunye, however, played down speculation that the rape case is eroding Filipino-American ties as VFA is put to the test.
“This is an isolated case. Our relations are much stronger now. It should not be a test of our time-honored friendship with the United States,” Bunye said.
Washington has yet to reply to the government’s request for custody of the marines sent through a note verbale on Nov. 16.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo is scheduled to fly to Washington this weekend to meet with US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice, but DFA played down speculation that the rape case was part of the agenda.
A day before the rape case was to be raffled off to an Olongapo trial court, Romulo reiterated the Philippine position that local authorities can seek custody of the accused under VFA provision on “extraordinary” cases.
Earlier reports that the four US marines were detailed to the Joint US Military Assistance Group (Jusmag) sparked criticism in what is already a politically charged affair.
House Deputy Majority Leader Edcel Lagman of Albay yesterday said the four suspects must be detained pending their trial, just like the Filipino driver of the van where the rape allegedly took place.
Lagman said it was unconstitutional for the accused to hide under the cloak of VFA, which allows the Americans to retain custody of US servicemen accused of crimes in the Philippines.
He called the custody provision “unconstitutional and unenforceable” because under the Constitution, persons charged with a capital offense such as rape must be detained pending trial.
Foreigners, he said, cannot have better rights than Filipinos under Philippine criminal jurisdiction.
Upholding sovereignty cannot be considered an “unfriendly act” against the United States even as surrendering Philippine sovereignty to a foreign power is a reprehensible and unpatriotic act, he said.
Lagman added that the “favorable treatment” accorded the accused American servicemen “infringes on the constitutional precept on the equal protection of the laws, which is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.”
Lagman stressed that VFA ratification by the Senate was immaterial because the senators cannot surrender Philippine sovereignty to the US or exempt American suspects accused of a capital offense from detention or custody by Philippine authorities.
The lawmaker added that the failure of the American Senate to ratify VFA was an affront on the time-honored principle of reciprocity and rendered the agreement nonoperational.
At the justice department, Gonzalez warded off charges that he had bungled the case, and rejected the call of Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo for him to resign.
“I won’t resign. Why should I? Mr. Ocampo does not know how to read. It’s all in the law,” Gonzalez said, adding that the failure of the government to obtain the custody of the four marines should not be attributed to his department.
“There is no issue about the trial. The issue is about custody. But we entered into a treaty, which was ratified by the Senate. I’m quite sure the Americans would not surrender them, Gonzalez said.
The justice secretary said Ocampo should “bomb the US embassy together with his NPAs, if he is so angry” — in a clear reference to suspected links between leftist groups such as Bayan Muna and the New People’s Army, the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
In reply, Ocampo said: “I will not dignify Secretary Gonzalez’s crude insinuation that I can command the New People’s Army to bomb the US embassy... He’s begging the question of his failure to assert Philippine sovereignty and the integrity of Philippine jurisprudence in the Subic rape case.”
Two of the original six servicemen accused of the rape, Correy Burris and Albert Lara, were dropped from the charge sheet for lack of evidence and were subsequently sent back to their base in Okinawa , Japan.
Remaining in the country are the four accused: Chad Carpentier, Dominic Duplantis, Daniel Smith and Keith Silkwood.
Anticrime and women’s rights groups have joined private prosecutors demanding that the government work to put the American suspects in local jails as the case goes to trial. With Rey E. Requejo, Ferdinand Fabella, Christine F. Herrera
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