Wednesday, January 03, 2007 Ilonggo lawyers slam DILG, DOJ on Smith transfer By Jay Dooma Balnig
FORMER presidents of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)-Iloilo chapter lambasted Tuesday the move of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the opinion made by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. on the transfer of convicted rapist, Lance Corporal Daniel Smith.
Smith, a convicted rapist in Subic, was handed over to the US government for custody.
In a statement, lawyer Vicente "Benjie" Gengos, past IBP-Iloilo president, said, "The transfer of convicted prisoner Daniel Smith, undertaken by DILG on the basis of DOJ, Presidential Legal Adviser opinions with the blessing of Malacañang, without a court order is a siege on the rule of law and sovereignty of the country."
They added, "We protest! Uphold the rule of law, Philippine Sovereignty!" the group said.
The stand was made by past IPB-Iloilo presidents, Nory Posecion, Gengos, Von Bedona and Amelita Del Rosario-Benedicto.
The reaction by various legal personalities came after the said transfer done before the year ended or days after the conviction of Smith at the Makati Regional Trial Court.
The RTC recently denied the motion of accused to transfer the custody of the convict from Metro Manila jail to the US Embassy.
They elevated the request to the Court of Appeals but this also junked the convict's motion.
Various legal organizations in Iloilo are also set to release their official stand regarding the matter.
Escape
Evalyn Ursua, lawyer for complainant "Nicole", said they consider the "surreptitious" transfer of Smith on the night of December 29 as an "escape" from the Makati City Jail where he was temporarily detained on the order of the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) after a guilty verdict was issued meting life imprisonment on him.
"He's (Smith) a fugitive from justice, a escaped prisoner," said Ursua, adding that they will also ask the appellate court to render the ruling of Makati Judge Benjamin Pozon final and issue the warrant of arrest so that he can finally serve his conviction in a Philippine jail.
Ursua issued the statement on the day she filed criminal charges against several Filipino officials, including Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr., Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Makati City Jail Warden Delvic Oreiro.
Expressing apprehension that Smith can be easily spirited out of the country without the Philippine authorities knowing, Ursua reminded everyone that the US Embassy where the American soldier was taken is a territory of the US where the country's judicial system has no jurisdiction.
Nicole's camp also sought, unsuccessfully, the issuance of arrest warrants against Smith and the three other accused in the case -- Staff Sergeant Chad Carpienter and Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood -- after the charges were filed early this year and the US retained custody of the four.
But in a press briefing, Puno denied reports that US authorities might spirit the serviceman out of the country saying an agreement was secured allowing Filipino officials to check on Smith at the embassy.
Smith would be staying in a room at the Rowe Building inside the heavily guarded embassy along Roxas Boulevard in Manila.
Details of Smith transfer remained cloudy although it emerged that an agreement was signed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Roberto Romulo and US Ambassador Kristie Kenney with the US authorities retaining custody of Smith while he is appealing his conviction.
The late night transfer, which caught everyone by surprise, immediately earned protests from various women's group and even lawmakers who called for the review of the 1998 RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
The case was also seen as a black mark in the ongoing ant-terror effort forged between the two close allies, which was credited with helping the ill-equipped Filipino military stamped out a rebellion by Al-Qaeda-linked militant groups in the restive southern part of the country.
On Tuesday morning, members of Gabriela and Kaisa Ka trooped to the US Embassy brandishing banners and streamers denouncing the transfer as an "affront to the country's sovereignty and justice system."
Washington has demanded Smith's custody ever since he was convicted by the local court citing provisions of the bilateral military treaty, but the court dismissed the appeal saying since the foreign soldier was convicted of a "heinous crime" and tried by a Philippine court custody, he should remain with Filipino authorities.
The court said the facility where he should stay pending the resolution of his appeal should be operated by Philippine authorities. ( with Sunnex)
