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Saturday, November 12, 2005
Arroyo bucks transfer of 6 US Marines to Japan
MANILA -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has put her foot down on a reported move by six American soldiers accused of gang-raping a 22-year-old Filipino woman last November 1 to go to Japan.
Arroyo on Friday gave a categorical order to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. not to agree to a transfer of the suspects outside of the country.
Gonzalez said the President called him up to maintain the government's stance against the reported transfer to Okinawa, Japan of the accused US soldiers amid a commitment from the US Embassy that they would remain in the country.
"She just called me up in line with her earlier order to protect the dignity of the country. This only shows that the President is not oblivious to the public's sentiments and opinion that say the accused should stay," he said.
Gonzalez said government cannot unilaterally renegotiate "in the middle of the game" the terms and conditions of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) binding the Philippines and the US despite a glaring incongruity like that of soldiers who commit criminal acts during their free time.
"There is room for review of the VFA but that has to be ratified by the Senate. Any review to be done would be unilateral. Both parties have to sit down together to negotiate the provisions that they wanted reviewed," he said.
Earlier, Gonzalez said government is prepared to oppose any attempt on the part of the US to ship out the six accused soldiers thereby physically removing them from the local court's jurisdiction.
He said the country would consider it an "affront" if the US Government would allow the accused soldiers to be transferred to their military base in Okinawa, even if it sent a note verbale through the Department of Foreign Affairs.
"We will contest that because we've already waived the physical custody and they are having the comforts here of their embassy. They have the comforts of US protection," said Gonzalez.
Although the VFA does not prevent the accused from leaving the country before trial proper, they remain under the custody of the US Government.
"Under the VFA, the custody waived in their favor continues throughout the judicial proceedings. It does not say they must be here at all times," he said, adding that under the agreement, the accused must be made available whenever their presence is required during the trial.
Failure to do so, he added, is likely to cause "diplomatic problems" between the US and the Philippine governments.
In case this happens, Gonzalez said the government may invoke the Philippines-US Extradition Treaty or the Philippines-US Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to compel the US to bring the accused back to the country and make them face the charges filed against them.
The Olongapo City prosecutor's office has already summoned the six accused, namely, Keith Silkwood, Albert Lara, Corey Barris, Chad Carpentier and Daniel Smith and Dominic Duplantis.
The accused were participants in the just-concluded US Talon Vision and Amphibious Landing Exercise, a yearly RP-US military exercise, held last October 26 to November 1. (ECV/Sunnex)
(November 12, 2005 issue)
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