Raped girl no sex worker
College grad from Zambo was only visiting Subic
By Allan Macatuno, Patrick Roxas, Volt Contreras
Inquirer News Service
Officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority are hard put to provide details on the Filipino woman allegedly raped by US servicemen, but they are clear on one thing: She is not a sex worker.
The woman has refused to say more about the incident that occurred between the evening of Nov. 1 and early morning of Nov. 2, said retired Gen. Jose Calimlim, SBMA senior deputy for operations. "She will no longer talk about the incident. She declined to be interviewed, and seemed so afraid discussing it," Calimlim said.
Early investigation has shown that the 22-year-old college graduate from Zamboanga came here with her stepsister to meet the latter's boyfriend, who was among those who took part in the RP-US counterterrorism exercises at Subic.
"The victim and her stepsister were here for a visit. Hindi sila pakawala (They are not loose women)," Calimlim said.
He said that according to the results of the medical test conducted at the James Gordon Memorial Hospital in nearby Olongapo City, the woman had a number of cuts in her genitals but was negative for sperm.
The woman had told investigators that her attacker had used a condom.
In her statement to investigators, she said she was "sexually assaulted by an unidentified male Caucasian." She did not say the suspects all raped her.
The woman is "still in a state of shock," according to her sister. Her mother arrived here from Zamboanga on Friday but refused to be interviewed.
Now in Manila
A complaint was filed against the Americans at the Olongapo City prosecutor's office on Thursday.
They are now in Manila and awaiting developments of the case, Calimlim said.
But US press attaché Matthew Lussenhop said only five American servicemen – not six, as the Inquirer had reported – were tagged in the alleged rape and thus barred by the US Embassy from leaving the country.
He said the embassy was dealing with the matter "very seriously" considering that US troops headed for foreign lands were, as standard procedure, advised to observe "cultural sensitivity, proper behavior and respect for the law of the communities" they were visiting, especially when off-duty.
Lussenhop said that as of yesterday, the embassy had yet to receive a formal notification from the Philippine government regarding the case.
Malacañang does not see the alleged rape as causing a ripple in RP-US relations as long as the provisions of the Visiting Forces Agreement are observed.
"From my end, I can see that for as long as everyone understands that this is covered by the VFA, I don't see any problem," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said in a teleconference with reporters.
He quoted President Macapagal-Arroyo as saying that "justice will be followed in accordance with our procedures and our laws."
DFA at frontline
But Malacañang does not see the need for hands-on action, Ermita said.
"This is a matter that is very well covered by the provisions of the VFA, and we are letting the Department of Foreign Affairs handle this," he said. "I'm sure this is being handled very well at the level of the [DFA] and the US Embassy."
Ermita also declined to state Malacañang's position on whether the US servicemen should be turned over to Philippine authorities during their trial.
"The DFA will be the one dishing out statements on this matter," he said.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the Philippines might seek custody of the US servicemen within 20 days.
But he said future developments depended on what would happen in talks between officials of the two countries. Echoing Ermita, he said the case was primarily a matter to be addressed by the DFA.
"Under the VFA, we basically waive custody to the US except in cases which are of such importance to our country, in which case we must justify the importance and request [custody] within a period of 20 days. At this point, it is still too early to say this because it is now the subject of a dialogue between the DFA and US," Gonzalez told reporters.
But he said that while custody belonged to the United States, "we have the right to ask the US to make [the servicemen] available for trial."
Gonzalez said that even if the rape victim declined to pursue charges, the crime could still be prosecuted because rape had ceased to be a private offense.
But he acknowledged that should the woman back out, the case would not be strong: "If there is no victim that will testify, what will you do?"
'Take jurisdiction'
Lawmakers were quick to make their views on the matter heard.
Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo challenged the Arroyo administration to "immediately prosecute the US soldiers to the fullest extent of Philippine laws."
"Ms Arroyo should order Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo to swiftly take jurisdiction of the incident, and the justice department to conduct a summary investigation and file the appropriate charges before a regional trial court to prevent the accused's flight from justice," Ocampo said in a press statement.
Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco, chair of the House foreign affairs committee, said the VFA should be reviewed and given "more teeth" to deter visiting US servicemen from committing crimes in the country.
Isabela Rep. Edwin Uy, chair of the House committee on bases conversion and development, warned the US government against using its influence to eventually obtain the soldiers' acquittal.
"This is a matter of applying the law and giving justice to the victim," Uy said. "There is no disagreement between the country and the US. We appeal to the different sectors not to use the issue to instigate conflict between the Philippine and US governments."
Warning
Sen. Rodolfo Biazon warned that the Senate would consider abrogating the VFA if the United States would cut corners to protect its servicemen.
"If there is an actual reneging by the Americans of the provisions of the VFA, the Senate could in the end consider abrogating the VFA in the same manner that it abrogated the Military Bases Agreement in 1991," he said in an interview.
"Since there is an interest in improving security cooperation, it will be for the interest of both nations to have mutual respect for the implementation of the VFA," he added.
Biazon co-chairs the legislative oversight committee on the VFA with Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago and two congressmen.
The senator, however, noted that so far the United States was abiding by the provisions of the VFA-which governs the conduct of US military personnel in the country, among others-in connection with the alleged rape.
"Since this is still in the investigative phase, it's right for the US Embassy to take custody of and be responsible for the American servicemen," he said, adding:
"This is a sign that the Americans will be made available for the conduct of the investigation and trial proceedings, if the case progresses to the point of trial."
If anything, said Biazon, who chairs the Senate committee on national defense and security, the alleged rape would test the mettle of both the presidential oversight committee and the legislative oversight committee in the implementation of VFA provisions.
He said it was the job of the two committees to ensure that the Philippines would not be "unnecessarily" taken advantage of.
The presidential oversight committee is cochaired by Foreign Secretary Romulo and Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz.
'A letdown'
Said Sen. Richard Gordon, a member of the oversight committee on the VFA, in an interview: "These things will happen when you have military officers. It happened in Okinawa; it happened here years ago. But when it happens to an ally, it's a letdown to the principles upon which the VFA was made.
"It disturbs the focus of mutual cooperation for security," he added, stressing that the VFA was aimed at promoting the common security interests of both countries as well as strengthening security in the Asia-Pacific region.
But Akbayan Rep. Etta Rosales said: "The US [servicemen] allegedly involved in the rape case should be tried in the Philippines. We warn against any move on the part of the US Embassy to cover up the wrongdoing as it would reflect on the US' inability to rein in its forces not only in the Philippines but also elsewhere.
"US troops should get out of Philippine soil right away and never come back, not because we are racists but because we do not support what they are here for."
Only a year
Should the case go the trial, it better be over within a year from the time of arraignment, Foreign Undersecretary Zosimo Jesus Paredes told the Inquirer by phone.
Citing jurisdiction provisions of the VFA, Paredes, a lawyer, said local courts had only a year in which they could compel the appearance of US personnel undergoing judicial proceedings in the Philippines.
Once that period elapses, the court "loses the right to require" the accused to appear at the hearings. Their US custodians may still be requested, but are no longer obliged under the VFA to present them, said Paredes, who is also the executive director of the Presidential Commission on the VFA.
By then, the accused can leave the country, he said, adding that the case could still proceed, but as a trial in absentia.
"That's why we are making this our priority," he said. "The government, and especially my office, are solidly behind the victim."
But like other criminal cases under the Philippine legal system, this case may be settled out of court, Paredes conceded.
"It's allowable under our legal process, and we cannot force victims [not to enter into a settlement]," he said.
"But I don't think it will come to that. Masyadong matindi ang mga pangyayari (The incident is terrible) and maybe all Filipinos are outraged by this case," he said.
'No whitewash'
Paredes said that in the next few days, he and his staff would meet with the woman and her family to assure them that "the government is behind them and is doing everything for them," and that there would be "no whitewash."
He said his counterpart in the US Embassy, whom he did not name, had personally assured him that the servicemen would remain in the country.
"I have not yet seen them, but I can if I want to," he said.
Lana Linaban, deputy secretary general of the militant women's group Gabriela, reiterated calls for an end to the RP-US military exercises, the pullout of US troops from the Philippines, and the scrapping of the VFA.
"The Philippine government is also liable for this [alleged rape] and for all the other crimes committed by the US soldiers against the Filipino people," Linaban said.
Swift justice
Some 20 members of Gabriela held a lightning rally near the US Embassy in Manila to condemn the alleged rape.
"Swift justice should be delivered to the victim. The perpetrators should be prosecuted and punished, and neither the Philippine government nor the US should give them special treatment," Libanan said.
Members of Gabriela Youth and the League of Filipino Students also joined the protest action.
By Allan Macatuno, Patrick Roxas, Volt Contreras
Inquirer News Service
Officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority are hard put to provide details on the Filipino woman allegedly raped by US servicemen, but they are clear on one thing: She is not a sex worker.
The woman has refused to say more about the incident that occurred between the evening of Nov. 1 and early morning of Nov. 2, said retired Gen. Jose Calimlim, SBMA senior deputy for operations. "She will no longer talk about the incident. She declined to be interviewed, and seemed so afraid discussing it," Calimlim said.
Early investigation has shown that the 22-year-old college graduate from Zamboanga came here with her stepsister to meet the latter's boyfriend, who was among those who took part in the RP-US counterterrorism exercises at Subic.
"The victim and her stepsister were here for a visit. Hindi sila pakawala (They are not loose women)," Calimlim said.
He said that according to the results of the medical test conducted at the James Gordon Memorial Hospital in nearby Olongapo City, the woman had a number of cuts in her genitals but was negative for sperm.
The woman had told investigators that her attacker had used a condom.
In her statement to investigators, she said she was "sexually assaulted by an unidentified male Caucasian." She did not say the suspects all raped her.
The woman is "still in a state of shock," according to her sister. Her mother arrived here from Zamboanga on Friday but refused to be interviewed.
Now in Manila
A complaint was filed against the Americans at the Olongapo City prosecutor's office on Thursday.
They are now in Manila and awaiting developments of the case, Calimlim said.
But US press attaché Matthew Lussenhop said only five American servicemen – not six, as the Inquirer had reported – were tagged in the alleged rape and thus barred by the US Embassy from leaving the country.
He said the embassy was dealing with the matter "very seriously" considering that US troops headed for foreign lands were, as standard procedure, advised to observe "cultural sensitivity, proper behavior and respect for the law of the communities" they were visiting, especially when off-duty.
Lussenhop said that as of yesterday, the embassy had yet to receive a formal notification from the Philippine government regarding the case.
Malacañang does not see the alleged rape as causing a ripple in RP-US relations as long as the provisions of the Visiting Forces Agreement are observed.
"From my end, I can see that for as long as everyone understands that this is covered by the VFA, I don't see any problem," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said in a teleconference with reporters.
He quoted President Macapagal-Arroyo as saying that "justice will be followed in accordance with our procedures and our laws."
DFA at frontline
But Malacañang does not see the need for hands-on action, Ermita said.
"This is a matter that is very well covered by the provisions of the VFA, and we are letting the Department of Foreign Affairs handle this," he said. "I'm sure this is being handled very well at the level of the [DFA] and the US Embassy."
Ermita also declined to state Malacañang's position on whether the US servicemen should be turned over to Philippine authorities during their trial.
"The DFA will be the one dishing out statements on this matter," he said.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the Philippines might seek custody of the US servicemen within 20 days.
But he said future developments depended on what would happen in talks between officials of the two countries. Echoing Ermita, he said the case was primarily a matter to be addressed by the DFA.
"Under the VFA, we basically waive custody to the US except in cases which are of such importance to our country, in which case we must justify the importance and request [custody] within a period of 20 days. At this point, it is still too early to say this because it is now the subject of a dialogue between the DFA and US," Gonzalez told reporters.
But he said that while custody belonged to the United States, "we have the right to ask the US to make [the servicemen] available for trial."
Gonzalez said that even if the rape victim declined to pursue charges, the crime could still be prosecuted because rape had ceased to be a private offense.
But he acknowledged that should the woman back out, the case would not be strong: "If there is no victim that will testify, what will you do?"
'Take jurisdiction'
Lawmakers were quick to make their views on the matter heard.
Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo challenged the Arroyo administration to "immediately prosecute the US soldiers to the fullest extent of Philippine laws."
"Ms Arroyo should order Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo to swiftly take jurisdiction of the incident, and the justice department to conduct a summary investigation and file the appropriate charges before a regional trial court to prevent the accused's flight from justice," Ocampo said in a press statement.
Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco, chair of the House foreign affairs committee, said the VFA should be reviewed and given "more teeth" to deter visiting US servicemen from committing crimes in the country.
Isabela Rep. Edwin Uy, chair of the House committee on bases conversion and development, warned the US government against using its influence to eventually obtain the soldiers' acquittal.
"This is a matter of applying the law and giving justice to the victim," Uy said. "There is no disagreement between the country and the US. We appeal to the different sectors not to use the issue to instigate conflict between the Philippine and US governments."
Warning
Sen. Rodolfo Biazon warned that the Senate would consider abrogating the VFA if the United States would cut corners to protect its servicemen.
"If there is an actual reneging by the Americans of the provisions of the VFA, the Senate could in the end consider abrogating the VFA in the same manner that it abrogated the Military Bases Agreement in 1991," he said in an interview.
"Since there is an interest in improving security cooperation, it will be for the interest of both nations to have mutual respect for the implementation of the VFA," he added.
Biazon co-chairs the legislative oversight committee on the VFA with Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago and two congressmen.
The senator, however, noted that so far the United States was abiding by the provisions of the VFA-which governs the conduct of US military personnel in the country, among others-in connection with the alleged rape.
"Since this is still in the investigative phase, it's right for the US Embassy to take custody of and be responsible for the American servicemen," he said, adding:
"This is a sign that the Americans will be made available for the conduct of the investigation and trial proceedings, if the case progresses to the point of trial."
If anything, said Biazon, who chairs the Senate committee on national defense and security, the alleged rape would test the mettle of both the presidential oversight committee and the legislative oversight committee in the implementation of VFA provisions.
He said it was the job of the two committees to ensure that the Philippines would not be "unnecessarily" taken advantage of.
The presidential oversight committee is cochaired by Foreign Secretary Romulo and Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz.
'A letdown'
Said Sen. Richard Gordon, a member of the oversight committee on the VFA, in an interview: "These things will happen when you have military officers. It happened in Okinawa; it happened here years ago. But when it happens to an ally, it's a letdown to the principles upon which the VFA was made.
"It disturbs the focus of mutual cooperation for security," he added, stressing that the VFA was aimed at promoting the common security interests of both countries as well as strengthening security in the Asia-Pacific region.
But Akbayan Rep. Etta Rosales said: "The US [servicemen] allegedly involved in the rape case should be tried in the Philippines. We warn against any move on the part of the US Embassy to cover up the wrongdoing as it would reflect on the US' inability to rein in its forces not only in the Philippines but also elsewhere.
"US troops should get out of Philippine soil right away and never come back, not because we are racists but because we do not support what they are here for."
Only a year
Should the case go the trial, it better be over within a year from the time of arraignment, Foreign Undersecretary Zosimo Jesus Paredes told the Inquirer by phone.
Citing jurisdiction provisions of the VFA, Paredes, a lawyer, said local courts had only a year in which they could compel the appearance of US personnel undergoing judicial proceedings in the Philippines.
Once that period elapses, the court "loses the right to require" the accused to appear at the hearings. Their US custodians may still be requested, but are no longer obliged under the VFA to present them, said Paredes, who is also the executive director of the Presidential Commission on the VFA.
By then, the accused can leave the country, he said, adding that the case could still proceed, but as a trial in absentia.
"That's why we are making this our priority," he said. "The government, and especially my office, are solidly behind the victim."
But like other criminal cases under the Philippine legal system, this case may be settled out of court, Paredes conceded.
"It's allowable under our legal process, and we cannot force victims [not to enter into a settlement]," he said.
"But I don't think it will come to that. Masyadong matindi ang mga pangyayari (The incident is terrible) and maybe all Filipinos are outraged by this case," he said.
'No whitewash'
Paredes said that in the next few days, he and his staff would meet with the woman and her family to assure them that "the government is behind them and is doing everything for them," and that there would be "no whitewash."
He said his counterpart in the US Embassy, whom he did not name, had personally assured him that the servicemen would remain in the country.
"I have not yet seen them, but I can if I want to," he said.
Lana Linaban, deputy secretary general of the militant women's group Gabriela, reiterated calls for an end to the RP-US military exercises, the pullout of US troops from the Philippines, and the scrapping of the VFA.
"The Philippine government is also liable for this [alleged rape] and for all the other crimes committed by the US soldiers against the Filipino people," Linaban said.
Swift justice
Some 20 members of Gabriela held a lightning rally near the US Embassy in Manila to condemn the alleged rape.
"Swift justice should be delivered to the victim. The perpetrators should be prosecuted and punished, and neither the Philippine government nor the US should give them special treatment," Libanan said.
Members of Gabriela Youth and the League of Filipino Students also joined the protest action.
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