Warrants against rape accused US Marines soon
Gulf News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge:
Arrest warrants against four US Marines accused of raping a 22-year-old Filipina are expected to be issued soon, the government said on Monday.
"Both the Philippines and the United States are determined to pursue justice under due process of law. Philippine sovereignty is firm as we anticipate the issuance of the warrant of arrest against the suspects, which will mark the inception of trial," said Ignacio Bunye, spokesman for President Gloria Arroyo.
Bunye said Philippine sovereignty and criminal justice shall be upheld in all stages amid reports that the US government would formally request Manila to have custody of its accused nationals.
"This is an isolated incident and while the case may indeed be a test on some provisions of the Visiting Forces Agreement [VFA], it should not be a test of our time-honoured friendship with the United States," Bunye said as he referred to provisions of an agreement signed by Manila and Washington in 1998 concerning the trial of nationals of either country accused of committing a crime.
On December 27, the office of the prosecutor in northern Olongapo City charged four Americans, Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier and Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis, Daniel Smith and Keith Silkwood of raping a Filipina inside a van in Subic, a former American naval base.
Prosecutors had also charged the Filipino driver of the van, Timoteo Soriano for complicity in the crime.
A crucial question hounding both Filipino and American officials now is who will get custody of the four Marines while judicial proceedings are underway.
Presently, the four accused Americans are under the custody of the US Embassy in Manila while Soriano had been missing right since he was charged by prosecutors last week.
Manila has been walking the tightrope by trying not to damage its ties with a very important ally and trying to appease nationalist groups in the capital.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the Philippines must first negotiate with the United States to "return to us the custody of the accused" before the arrest warrants against the American soldiers could be served.
"We cannot arrest them and break the treaty unilaterally. That can become an unfriendly act with a country that is aligned with us," Gonzalez said.
"Both the Philippines and the United States are determined to pursue justice under due process of law. Philippine sovereignty is firm as we anticipate the issuance of the warrant of arrest against the suspects, which will mark the inception of trial," said Ignacio Bunye, spokesman for President Gloria Arroyo.
Bunye said Philippine sovereignty and criminal justice shall be upheld in all stages amid reports that the US government would formally request Manila to have custody of its accused nationals.
"This is an isolated incident and while the case may indeed be a test on some provisions of the Visiting Forces Agreement [VFA], it should not be a test of our time-honoured friendship with the United States," Bunye said as he referred to provisions of an agreement signed by Manila and Washington in 1998 concerning the trial of nationals of either country accused of committing a crime.
On December 27, the office of the prosecutor in northern Olongapo City charged four Americans, Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier and Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis, Daniel Smith and Keith Silkwood of raping a Filipina inside a van in Subic, a former American naval base.
Prosecutors had also charged the Filipino driver of the van, Timoteo Soriano for complicity in the crime.
A crucial question hounding both Filipino and American officials now is who will get custody of the four Marines while judicial proceedings are underway.
Presently, the four accused Americans are under the custody of the US Embassy in Manila while Soriano had been missing right since he was charged by prosecutors last week.
Manila has been walking the tightrope by trying not to damage its ties with a very important ally and trying to appease nationalist groups in the capital.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the Philippines must first negotiate with the United States to "return to us the custody of the accused" before the arrest warrants against the American soldiers could be served.
"We cannot arrest them and break the treaty unilaterally. That can become an unfriendly act with a country that is aligned with us," Gonzalez said.
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
10:44 PM
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