thedrifter
01-16-06, 05:35 AM
Holiday gives US Marines breather from impending arrest
First posted 01:33pm (Mla time) Jan 16, 2006
By Veronica Uy
INQ7.net
THE ARREST warrants against the four American soldiers accused of rape will not be served, at least not this Monday, as the US embassy where the suspects are detained is closed, Philippine and US officials said.
Foreign affairs spokesman Gilbert Asuque said the embassy was commemorating Martin Luther King Day.
“One of the virtues of diplomacy is patience. [The arrest warrant issue] cannot be rushed. As Judge [Renato] Dilag said, we must exhaust all diplomatic means to address the delicate issue of custody. We must exert all avenues through dialogue and diplomacy,” he said.
Dilag is the presiding judge in the trial of Daniel Smith, Keith Silkwood, Dominic Duplantis, and Chad Carpentier who have been accused of raping a 22-year-old Filipina in the former Subic naval base in Zambales province last Nov. 1, 2005.
In a phone interview, US embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop said, “The embassy is closed for an American holiday and we don't expect any action today.”
Undersecretary Zosimo Paredes, executive director of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement, said the departments of justice and foreign affairs were “taking advantage of the lull to talk about the mechanics of serving the warrants,” which would be similar to serving a subpoena.
Paredes said representatives from the US embassy, DoJ, and Dilag's office would be present at the DFA where the warrant, together with a note verbale, would be transmitted to US officials.
Asuque said an “acceptable approach to the problem” of how to reconcile the VFA provision specifying American custody of the accused and the arrest warrant was being discussed, as a Philippine request for custody has been pending with the US for two months.
“We don't want to delay justice. We want justice to be served quickly, taking into account treaty obligations,” the DFA spokesman said.
Asked if the US embassy would turn over the suspects, Lussenhop said: “We don't want to speculate on that issue. They remain in our custody because the VFA allows that they remain in our custody.”
Ellie
First posted 01:33pm (Mla time) Jan 16, 2006
By Veronica Uy
INQ7.net
THE ARREST warrants against the four American soldiers accused of rape will not be served, at least not this Monday, as the US embassy where the suspects are detained is closed, Philippine and US officials said.
Foreign affairs spokesman Gilbert Asuque said the embassy was commemorating Martin Luther King Day.
“One of the virtues of diplomacy is patience. [The arrest warrant issue] cannot be rushed. As Judge [Renato] Dilag said, we must exhaust all diplomatic means to address the delicate issue of custody. We must exert all avenues through dialogue and diplomacy,” he said.
Dilag is the presiding judge in the trial of Daniel Smith, Keith Silkwood, Dominic Duplantis, and Chad Carpentier who have been accused of raping a 22-year-old Filipina in the former Subic naval base in Zambales province last Nov. 1, 2005.
In a phone interview, US embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop said, “The embassy is closed for an American holiday and we don't expect any action today.”
Undersecretary Zosimo Paredes, executive director of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement, said the departments of justice and foreign affairs were “taking advantage of the lull to talk about the mechanics of serving the warrants,” which would be similar to serving a subpoena.
Paredes said representatives from the US embassy, DoJ, and Dilag's office would be present at the DFA where the warrant, together with a note verbale, would be transmitted to US officials.
Asuque said an “acceptable approach to the problem” of how to reconcile the VFA provision specifying American custody of the accused and the arrest warrant was being discussed, as a Philippine request for custody has been pending with the US for two months.
“We don't want to delay justice. We want justice to be served quickly, taking into account treaty obligations,” the DFA spokesman said.
Asked if the US embassy would turn over the suspects, Lussenhop said: “We don't want to speculate on that issue. They remain in our custody because the VFA allows that they remain in our custody.”
Ellie