DoJ to subpoena 5 US Marines in Subic rape case

[thedrifter]

DoJ to subpoena 5 US Marines in Subic rape case
First posted 07:31pm (Mla time) Nov 07, 2005
By Tetch Torres, Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, Maila Ager
INQ7.net, Agence France-Presse

THE DEPARTMENT of Justice (DoJ) will subpoena five US Marines accused of raping a Filipina in a case which has rekindled sentiments against American military presence in the Philippines.

Assistant prosecutor Raymund Viray of the Subic free port north of Manila said the subpoena would be sent to the US embassy in Manila, which has custody of the men, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Those being asked to appear before a preliminary investigation were identified as Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Corey Barris and Chad Carpenter. A sixth suspect earlier identified by witnesses was dropped from the list by the accused.

"At this point, we consider the five suspects still at large," Viray said. "If a probable cause will be established, only then will a warrant of arrest be issued by the trial court for the detention of the suspects in the local prison cell," he said.

Viray, together with Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Olongapo Chief Prosecutor Rodney Jalandoni and Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuno met Monday and discussed the case.

Gonzalez said while the prosecution would like the US servicemen be placed under the Philippine custody, it was still a matter within the jurisdiction of the DFA.

Paul Jones, US chargé d' affaires, said Thursday the suspects “are currently in the Philippines under the responsibility of the US embassy in Manila.”

Cebu Representative Antonio Cuenco, chairman of the House committee on foreign affairs, called on the US embassy to prevent the American Marines from leaving the country while formal charges were being prepared against them.

The five had recently joined a large-scale joint US-Philippine military exercise in Subic. A 22-year-old Filipina has accused them of raping her and filed a complaint to Viray's office.

Once prosecutors say there is probable cause to charge the five, then they would be arrested and taken to court.

The incident has sparked widespread calls for the government to abolish a "visiting forces agreement" with the US.

This protects American soldiers from prosecution for actions as part of war games but provides less protection for crimes committed while on leave. Nationalist groups and leftist organizations allege the agreement has led to abuses by US soldiers.

On Monday, six militant legislators at the House of Representatives said they will file a resolution calling for the abrogation of the VFA.

"We seriously doubt the prosecution and punishment" of the US Marines under the VFA, Representative Satur Ocampo said.

Ocampo will lead the filing of the measure, along with Gabriela Representative Liza Maza, Bayan Muna representatives Teodoro Casiño and Joel Virador, and Anakpawis representatives Crispin Beltran and Rafael Mariano.

Maza said she would file a separate resolution to allow the House of Representatives to conduct its own investigation on the matter.

The Philippine government has been trying to limit the political fallout, saying the case is an isolated case which will not sour ties.

Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye on Monday said both governments "share a strong interest in resolving this case" and vowed that due process will be observed.

He said that while Malacañang was indignant over the incident, "emotional outbursts will help neither the victim nor the cause of impartial justice."

"There will be no whitewash in the investigation and we shall insist on our sovereign prerogatives," Bunye said.

Bunye said both the Philippines and the United States are determined to resolve the case through due process and in accordance with the provisions of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

Militant groups held street protests in Manila and in Subic demanding the US Embassy produce the suspects.

Under the VFA, the US Embassy has the custody over their servicemen who have committed crimes in the Philippines.

The VFA was negotiated by Washington and Manila following the closure in 1992 of all US military bases in the country. The agreement was in lieu of permanent bases, which are banned by the Philippine Constitution. With Associated Press

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Driver recants statement
The Manila Times

Timoteo Soriano, the driver of the van the US Marines reportedly rented and used in the alleged rape, on Monday recanted his statement on the incident.

Soriano told GMA 7 that the alleged victim was not raped. He earlier signed an affidavit supporting the victim’s accusation. The rape complainant was reportedly taken to a van where the six suspects allegedly took turns raping her.

The Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office filed rape charges against US Marines Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Dominic Duplantis, Corey Barris and Chad Capent. The six Marines are reportedly in the custody of the US Embassy in Manila.

Meanwhile, the human-rights group Karapatan picketed the Department of Justice office Monday afternoon. The group called on the department to resolve the case.

“No to US custody, jail the rapists,” one of their streamers read.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Rape Allegations Against Marines Spur Angry Protests in Philippines
# Crowds rail against the presence of American troops after a young woman says she was attacked. The countries' relations could be hurt.

By Richard C. Paddock, Times Staff Writer

MANILA — Angered over the alleged rape of a 22-year-old Filipina as she rode in a van with six U.S. Marines, demonstrators railed Monday against the presence of American troops in the Philippines.

No charges have been filed in Wednesday's incident at the former Subic Bay naval base, but six Marines are being held by the U.S. Embassy in an undisclosed location. U.S. and Philippine officials are conducting separate investigations into allegations that the woman was raped and left by the side of the road.

Lurid details of the incident have been widely published in the Philippine press. Newspapers have labeled it a "gang rape." One Philippine senator called the Marines "sex terrorists." Some critics said the case, like the mistreatment of detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, was part of a pattern of abuse by U.S. forces abroad.

U.S. officials, however, said neither the Philippine nor the American investigation was complete and that the facts remained unclear. The Marines will be made be available to Philippine authorities when a request is made, U.S. Embassy spokesman Matt Lussenhop said.

"Our focus is to make sure the truth comes out and justice is done," Lussenhop said. "The six Marines were alleged to have been involved or were witnesses. They are now under the responsibility of the embassy."

The Marines, who were stationed aboard the Okinawa-based amphibious assault ship Essex, were among 4,000 troops who came here to participate in exercises with Philippine troops. Afterward, they were granted shore leave at Subic Bay, which became a tourist center and industrial zone after its closure as a U.S. base 13 years ago.

According to the woman's complaint, she met the Marines at a bar called the Neptune Club. She had drinks with the men and, early Wednesday, went with them in a rented van driven by a hired local driver.

The woman alleged that she had been raped while the vehicle was in motion. She reportedly told police that she lost consciousness during the incident and does not know how many men raped her.

The woman was discovered by passersby who took her to police. According to press reports, investigators gathered evidence including a condom and a receipt for the van, including the license plate number, which led them to the driver.

The driver told police that the woman was very drunk and that at least one man had sex with her in the van as they drove around the sprawling former base.

In an interview Monday with GMA7 television station, the driver said he heard one Marine say, "I'm done," shortly before the men told him to pull over. Four Marines took the woman from the van and left her by the road, he said.

A U.S. official said the Marines were preparing to hire Philippine attorneys.

The incident has outraged women's groups as well as critics of the U.S. military presence in the Philippines. Some called Monday for scrapping the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows U.S. troops to conduct military exercises and anti-terrorism training there.

Critics also called for the Marines to be tried by a Philippine court. Under Philippine law, rape can be punished by death.

The case could be politically damaging to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a supporter of the U.S. military presence who has been under pressure to resign because of allegations that she rigged last year's election.

It also could damage relations with the United States, which controlled the Philippines as a colony from 1898 until World War II and maintained a large military presence here until 1992.

Protests over the alleged attack have been held near the U.S. Embassy almost daily, and demonstrators have burned several American flags. On Monday, protesters called the U.S. the "No. 1 terrorist" and the "No. 1 rapist."

Ignacio Bunye, Arroyo's spokesman, said the alleged rape was an isolated incident that should not affect military cooperation with the United States. He noted that the Visiting Forces Agreement would allow prosecution of the Marines in a Philippine court.

"There will be no whitewash in the investigation," Bunye said.

Sen. Joker Arroyo, who called the Marines "sex terrorists," said the incident was part of a pattern of American military misconduct around the world that stemmed from the U.S. government's failure to "take the moral high ground."

"No wonder, despite their military victories in Afghanistan and Iraq, they are losing the fight against global terrorism because they have not matched their military victories with moral supremacy," the senator said.

Rep. Antonio Cuenco, who chairs the House committee on foreign affairs, said he did not think the incident would strain relations with the U.S.

"The United States is the foremost democratic country in the world," he said. "They will see to it that these errant boys will be punished."

Ellie