Custody fight looms over GIs in rape

Despite a possible battle for custody over the accused, the filing of rape charges against four United States Marines will not affect bilateral ties between the Philippines and its main ally, the United States, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said yesterday.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the impression he had from the statement issued by the US Embassy on Tuesday is that American officials "will insist on custody during the trial."

He said Washington has not responded to Manila’s Nov. 16 custody request "but the picture has somehow changed with the indictment... You now have the court to reckon with."

"I suppose they will politely reject our request and, if we are not satisfied, we can insist on negotiating for custody," Gonzalez said, adding "there could be" a custody battle.

Bunye, for his part, said: "Both governments have assured that whatever the outcome, it will not in any way affect the close ties and friendship that bind the two countries."

"The Philippine and US governments are for the swift resolution of this isolated case but always through the observance of due process," he said.

"Now that the case is already in court, let us leave justice to take its course instead of raising speculation that will only mislead the public and affect legal proceedings," Bunye added.

Under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the US, the US can keep custody of its personnel until judicial proceedings are completed, but shall make them available for court appearances. In extraordinary cases, the Philippines may seek custody over the accused, which the US shall "take into full account."

Four US Marines and their Filipino driver, Timoteo Soriano Jr., were charged Tuesday with the rape of a 22-year-old Filipina in a van on Nov. 1 in the former US naval base of Subic Bay in Olongapo City, Zambales.

The case has drawn widespread media attention in this former US colony, and human rights advocates say it has opened up old wounds caused by past abuses.

It is also seen as a litmus test for the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), a treaty that grants limited immunity to criminal prosecution to US soldiers taking part in maneuvers here.

The US Embassy in Manila had invoked the treaty in refusing to hand over the suspects, but said diplomats would turn the Marines over to authorities if the four were formally charged.

Rape in the Philippines is punishable by life imprisonment or death, if there were aggravating circumstances. Leftist groups have said the crime shows how the US violates Philippine sovereignty.

In Olongapo City, Soriano went missing from his last known address, the victim’s lawyer, Minerva Ambrosio said.

Ambrosio said the prosecution wants custody of the accused "because, in our discussion with the Americans (from the US Naval Criminal Investigation Service or NCIS), they said that if these Americans leave the (uniformed) service, they have no hold on them anymore."

According to Ambrosio, Soriano was absent without leave (AWOL) from the Starways Travel and Tours, a Makati City-based car rental company where Soriano was employed at the time of the alleged rape.

It was not known if Soriano had gone into hiding following his inclusion as a respondent in the rape case.

Olongapo City Prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni said it was "possible" that Soriano may have gone into hiding, considering that no bail was recommended for him as an alleged accomplice of the accused.

Soriano’s address was merely listed as "care of" lawyer Jose Raulito Paras, his counsel, who holds office at the Lepanto Building in Makati City.

Soriano was initially a witness for the prosecution until he said he had been forced by case investigators to testify that the victim had been gang-raped.

The Olongapo City Jail cell where the accused may be detained is a dismal place: measuring nine square meters, it has no shower facilities and a toilet bowl that can only be flushed by pouring water directly into the bowl. The OCJ at located in Camp Manuel Cabal in Barangay Barretto.

The OCJ is already packing 548 inmates into a 448-meter floor area, jail warden Chief Inspector Ramon Valientes said.

"Having them (the accused US servicemen and Soriano) in my custody would be a security nightmare," Valientes said.

Meanwhile, the US military has also set court martial proceedings against the accused US servicemen in the US naval facility in Okinawa, Japan. - Paolo Romero, Ding Cervantes, Bebot Sison Jr., AFP, AP