Warrants for arrest of four US Marines
By Jomar Canlas and Jonathan Vicente, Manila Time Reporters
WARRANTS for the arrest of the four US Marines in the Subic rape case are expected to be served today, Tuesday.
Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño said the original plan to serve it on Monday was not carried out, because the US Embassy is closed for Martin Luther King Day.
Zuño said the Department of Justice will course the warrants through the Department of Foreign Affairs, which will serve them to the American Marines via the US Embassy.
As a rule, the warrants of arrest are given to the prosecutor and the justice department endorses them to Foreign Affairs, which negotiates with the US Embassy. The warrants were issued by Judge Renato Dilag of the Olongapo Regional Trial Court.
“There will be a meeting on Tuesday with DFA officials about how to serve the warrant of arrest,” Zuño said.
The justice department is optimistic that the US Embassy will submit to the authority of the local court to preserve good diplomatic relations between the two governments.
Olongapo Prosecutor Chief Prudencio Jalandoni said they will follow the procedure mandated under the Visiting Forces Agreement as an executive agreement entered into by the Philippine government.
The four Marines are in the custody of the US Embassy. They are Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Chad Carpentier and Dominic Duplantis.
The US Embassy insists that it is the right of the US government to have custody of the four Marines.
In a brief statement issued on its website, the US Embassy reiterated the terms under the VFA that allow US government to take the custody of the four.
The embassy said, “The terms of the VFA allow for the accused to remain in US custody until the end of judicial proceedings. They are restricted to quarters, and they have no official working role at the US Embassy [in Manila].”
WARRANTS for the arrest of the four US Marines in the Subic rape case are expected to be served today, Tuesday.
Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño said the original plan to serve it on Monday was not carried out, because the US Embassy is closed for Martin Luther King Day.
Zuño said the Department of Justice will course the warrants through the Department of Foreign Affairs, which will serve them to the American Marines via the US Embassy.
As a rule, the warrants of arrest are given to the prosecutor and the justice department endorses them to Foreign Affairs, which negotiates with the US Embassy. The warrants were issued by Judge Renato Dilag of the Olongapo Regional Trial Court.
“There will be a meeting on Tuesday with DFA officials about how to serve the warrant of arrest,” Zuño said.
The justice department is optimistic that the US Embassy will submit to the authority of the local court to preserve good diplomatic relations between the two governments.
Olongapo Prosecutor Chief Prudencio Jalandoni said they will follow the procedure mandated under the Visiting Forces Agreement as an executive agreement entered into by the Philippine government.
The four Marines are in the custody of the US Embassy. They are Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Chad Carpentier and Dominic Duplantis.
The US Embassy insists that it is the right of the US government to have custody of the four Marines.
In a brief statement issued on its website, the US Embassy reiterated the terms under the VFA that allow US government to take the custody of the four.
The embassy said, “The terms of the VFA allow for the accused to remain in US custody until the end of judicial proceedings. They are restricted to quarters, and they have no official working role at the US Embassy [in Manila].”
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
5:52 AM
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