This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 39, November 6-12, 2005
ANALYSIS
© 2005 Bulatlat
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Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
The record of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the Visiting Forces Agreement
(VFA) with the U.S. government reveals that she will not likely support any
legal action against five U.S. Marines who are accused of gang-raping a Filipino
woman on Nov. 1.
By Bulatlat
The record of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the Visiting Forces Agreement
(VFA) with the U.S. government reveals that she will not likely support any
legal action against five U.S. Marines who are accused of gang- raping a
Filipino woman on Nov. 1. To avoid another irritant with the U.S. government,
Macapagal-Arroyo has allowed other officials most especially her foreign
secretary for a reaction. Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo has vowed to
bring justice to the case.
But all this may just be for show and cannot hide the fact that the President,
who continues to face calls for her removal from office, has always stood by the
side of the U.S. - even at the expense of her own officials.
Then Vice President Teofisto Guingona was forced to resign his concurrent post
as foreign secretary sometime 2002 over irreconcilable policy differences with
Macapagal-Arroyo with regards the VFA and the "Balikatan" war exercises between
Philippine and U.S. forces. Macapagal-Arroyo then appointed the pro-American
Blas Ople to replace Guingona.
Elmer Cato and lawyer Amado Valdes, two executive directors of the VFA
monitoring commission, which is under the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA),
were sacked one after the other. Cato had warned about many violations committed
by visiting U.S. forces against the VFA while Valdez had insisted on prosecuting
three drunken U.S. soldiers who rammed their vehicle at an electric post and a
variety store in Zamboanga City in 2003.
In exchange for the Philippines being given the status of a major
non-NATO ally, Macapagal-Arroyo signed an immunity agreement with U.S. President
George W. Bush, Jr. in 2003 protecting U.S. forces in the Philippines from
prosecution under the International Criminal Court (ICC) Treaty.
Not one prosecuted
So far since the VFA took effect in 1999, none of the several U.S. soldiers who
were accused of committing offenses resulting in the death or injury of a number
of Filipino civilians have been prosecuted. This is because either the suspects
were spirited away by their own military superiors or Philippine foreign affairs
and justice authorities appeared to lack any seriousness in bringing the
perpetrators to justice.
The reported rape of a 22-year-old Filipino woman in Subic may suffer
the same fate. The woman, a college graduate and not a sex worker, was allegedly
raped by five U.S. Marines. (A witness earlier said there were six involved,
namely, Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Dominic Duplantis, Corey
Barris and Chad Carpenter.)
Although a criminal complaint has been filed with the Olongapo prosecutor's
office, the rape suspects remain under the custody of the U.S. Embassy. The
alleged offense was committed not "in the performance of official duty" and was
well within Philippine law. This should give the regional trial court in
Olongapo exclusive jurisdiction over the case. Under the VFA, however, this
jurisdiction does not confer on the Philippine government the right to keep the
accused in its custody. Any complaint filed against the suspects should be heard
within one year and while this is pending, the U.S. soldiers remain in U.S.
custody. If the case is not concluded in one year, the accused can be sent back
to the U.S.
With the VFA tilted in favor of the U.S. and Macapagal-Arroyo being on record as
fully subservient to U.S. military interests even if – as progressive groups
would put it - these are clearly unconstitutional
and an infringement on the country's sovereignty, the new Olongapo rape case
will most likely become another victim of a whitewash. To forget everything and
keep security ties between the Philippines and the U.S. in good shape, an
amicable settlement might be forced upon the rape victim.
In the Philippines and in many other countries where there are U.S. forces and
facilities, it is a rarity that a crime committed by the armed personnel of the
world's only superpower is litigated successfully in favor of the victim.
Macapagal-Arroyo will just be courting the ire of the U.S. if she pursues the
Olongapo case to the end especially at this time when she needs its continued
support as her regime continues to crumble.
How can one possibly expect a President who is accused of major crimes ranging
from electoral fraud to politically-motivated killings to uphold Philippine
laws? Bulatlat