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Monday, December 11, 2006
Mayor warns US servicemen: Never rape anyone here
DAVAO CITY -- A US serviceman who makes the mistake of raping somebody in Davao City will just have to bid his privates goodbye, warned Mayor Rodrigo Duterte Sunday.
Duterte expressed apprehension on how the case of convicted Lance Corporal Daniel Smith is going and hinting that the best way to deal with such rapist is to deal with them the way the city deals with similar criminals.
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"Don't ever make the mistake of raping anyone in Davao because you will get it from me," he said.
The mayor said Smith is just lucky he did not commit his crime in Davao City.
Duterte also said that the US government's insistence to get custody of Smith even after he was already convicted is just a ploy to get him out of the Philippines.
He said he is sure that once the American government gets custody of Smith, then it will be bidding goodbye to justice for complainant Nicole because the US government will fly Smith out immediately.
This is what the US government is doing for all its servicemen who commit a crime -- very much like the rape cases in the US military base in Tokyo, Japan some years ago.
"That rape conviction will be for nothing in the long run because the American government will surely fly Smith out the moment they get hold of him," Duterte said.
He added that while the gang rape case in Tokyo may appear different since Tokyo has a US military base, the situation remains the same in the Philippines more than a decade after it booted out the US bases.
US servicemen who commit crimes are still being protected by their government.
"Nothing has changed," Duterte said.
That is why, Duterte said, it is important that Smith remains in Philippine custody.
The mayor said the Philippine government must not give in to the pressure and demand of the US government, adding that the Visiting Forces Agreement was even designed with flaws to allow US to give its own interpretation in case incidents like rape and other crimes crop up while the agreement is in force.
"They (US) make so many provisions, all gray areas, then when the time comes they pressure the Philippine government in interpreting it the US way," Duterte said.
Asked where Duterte wants Smith to serve his sentence, Duterte said the Ma-a City Jail would be best for him.
"Lock him in at the Ma-a City Jail where I will castrate him," Duterte said.
The mayor also sneered at those representing Smith for insisting that the VFA provision about servicemen who get in trouble remaining in US government's custody while judicial process is ongoing and insisting that since the case is still being appealed then Smith remains innocent.
"I don't know from what school they learned their law. I might end up in a quarrel again for this," he said.
Conviction at first instance, he says, shows the respondent is guilty. The maxim of being innocent until proven guilty no longer applies to Smith.
The case being now on appeal simply means the situation is now reversed. Smith is guilty until proven innocent and the burden of proving that now lies with the defense.
That, he said, has been the interpretation of the law since before the rape conviction of the US serviceman. (Sun.Star Davao/BOT/With SAE)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Manila. (December 11, 2006 issue)
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