Rape Case as a Political
Issue
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye’s statement last week calling on President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s opponents and critics to refrain from making a
political issue out of the Subic rape case misses the whole point — that
the rape of a Filipina by visiting U.S. troops cannot be anything but a
political issue.
BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat
Press Secretary
Ignacio Bunye’s statement last week calling on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s
opponents and critics to refrain from making a political issue out of the
Nov. 1 alleged rape of a Filipina in Subic, Zambales (138 kms. north of
Manila) by six U.S. Marine soldiers, misses the whole point. The rape case
involving visiting U.S. troops cannot be anything but a political issue.
Initial findings from
Subic police show that the victim, a college graduate from Zamboanga
taking a vacation in Subic, was at a karaoke bar Nov. 1 when she met the
six suspects, who reportedly took her with them into a rented van. An
eyewitness saw her a few hours later being dumped on the road,
unconscious, only wearing panties, from a van.
|
SECOND TIME AROUND: The
return of U.S. troops to the Philippines, made possible by the
Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in 1999, also spelled the return of
atrocities against Filipinos by U.S. military personnel without any
prospect of justice for the victims. |
The six suspects –
Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Dominic Duplantis, Corey Barris
and Chad Carpenter – were participants in the joint Philippine-U.S.
Balikatan military exercises. They are now under the custody of the U.S.
Embassy in Manila. Subpoenas have been served to them, but the U.S.
Embassy has yet to surface the suspects.
The U.S. Navy is
reportedly conducting its own investigation of the incident. “Currently,
the NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigation Service) is investigating from the
U.S. side,” said Capt. Burrel Parmer, public affairs officer of the 31st
Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to which the six suspects belong. “I don’t
know exactly what the Philippine side is investigating, but I know there
is an ongoing investigation.”
VFA
Parmer’s statement
sounds reassuring until we look back at the
Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA),
which provides for the “rights” of U.S. troops visiting the Philippines
for the Balikatan military exercises – which includes exemption from
passport and visa requirements.
The VFA provides
enough loopholes for the six US soldiers accused of rape to evade justice.
The first loophole is
on the question of jurisdiction. Article V of the VFA, which deals with
criminal jurisdiction, provides among other things that the U.S. has the
primary right to exercise jurisdiction over U.S. personnel in relation to
“offenses arising out of any act or
omission done in performance of official duty.”
If the NCIS investigation yield the “findings” that the rape was
committed while the six U.S. soldiers were “on official duty” by regarding
the entirety of the six suspects’ stay in the Philippines for the
Balikatan military exercises – including their off-“training” hours – as
“official duty.” Then all the
Philippines can do is to call for a “review” of the official duty
certificate and “mandate” the U.S. side to “take full account” of the
Philippine position.
The VFA also provides that the Philippine government may waive
jurisdiction over a case if requested by United States military
authorities: “Recognizing the responsibility of the United States military
authorities to maintain good order and discipline among their forces,
Philippine authorities will, upon request by the United States, waive
their primary right to exercise jurisdiction except in cases of particular
importance to the Philippines. If the Government of the
Philippines determines that the case is of particular importance, it shall
communicate such determination to the
United States
authorities within twenty (20) days after the Philippine authorities
receive the United States request.”
The said provision practically compels Philippine authorities to
give up criminal jurisdiction at the “request” of the
U.S. government. Given the tendency of the Arroyo administration to kowtow
to any request by the
US
government such as supporting unjust wars of aggression as what happened
in Iraq, then the six
US
soldiers may as well elude justice in exchange for aid.
Another loophole is the question of custody. While denying the
rumors that the six
US soldiers have been spirited out to the US base in Japan, US embassy
officials claim that there is nothing in the VFA that compels the accused
to be held in the country. They said that what was required by the VFA was
to ensure that the accused be presented in court whenever necessary.
When criminal jurisdiction over the six suspects goes into
U.S. hands, the Philippines may as well kiss all hopes of justice for the
victim goodbye. The U.S. also has a long record of spiriting away American
soldiers suspected of committing criminal acts in the Philippines before
they could be tried in Philippine courts.
Macapagal-Arroyo
The culpability of Macapagal-Arroyo lies in her unwavering support
for
US
military presence in the country.
Upon assumption of office after the ouster of former President
Joseph Estrada, Macapagal-Arroyo could have used the powers of her office
to call for a termination of the VFA. The VFA provides that either party
could give a notice of termination of the agreement. The agreement remains
in force until after 180 days from the date when either party notifies the
other in writing that it desires to terminate the agreement.
On the contrary, in late 2001, Macapagal-Arroyo actively pushed for
the Balikatan military exercises. She even called its opponents
“un-Filipino” and “Abu Sayyaf lovers.” Her vice-president and foreign
affairs secretary then, Teofisto Guingona, who in 1991 voted for the
rejection of the RP-U.S. Military Bases Agreement and remained a staunch
opponent of the presence of U.S. troops on Philippine soil, was even
forced to resign in late 2002. He would then be replaced as foreign
affairs secretary by the pro-U.S. Blas Ople.
Macapagal-Arroyo would even add to all these by approving also in
late 2002 the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA), which permits
U.S. troops to bring military equipment into the country from any point –
thus allowing for some sort of basing arrangements.
By not exercising her powers to bring about a termination of the
VFA, by pushing for the Balikatan military exercises and the approval of
the MLSA, Macapagal-Arroyo places on her shoulders the responsibility for
the consequences of the aforementioned iniquitous RP.U.S. agreements. This
includes the Nov. 1 rape of a Filipina in Subic by six U.S. Marine
soldiers. This makes it an issue against her administration.
Above all, the issue of the Nov. 1 rape is an issue of sovereignty.
The VFA and the MLSA, by their iniquity, can rightly be assailed as
affronts against Philippine sovereignty.
All these make the issue of the Nov. 1 rape a political issue.
Bulatlat
BACK TO
TOP ■
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION ■
COMMENT
© 2005 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications
Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided
its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.