P-Noy, Speaker: No need to abrogate VFA

MANILA, Philippines - There is no need to abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, President Aquino said yesterday amid calls for Philippine custody of a US Marine accused in the killing of Filipino transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude.

“Why should the VFA be abrogated? I mean, name me any place that doesn’t have crime. And the sin of one person should be reflective of the entire country? I don’t think so,” Aquino told reporters during the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Leyte Gulf landing in Palo.

“What’s important here is that a crime was perpetrated (so) gather all the evidence to prove that the suspect is indeed guilty and obtain justice,” he said.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. also opposed calls to scrap the VFA, saying the pact is vital to the country’s security.

Belmonte said it would be better if the Senate instead of the House would review the VFA to avoid confusion.

He said the killing of Laude had nothing to do with the country’s security agreement with the US.

“Definitely that cannot be equated with one incident wherein we do not even know the facts of that incident,” he said.

The President said the issue of the custody of US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton was being discussed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, US Ambassador Philip Goldberg and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.

“I’m sure they are working on resolving this issue. And at the very least making sure, based on the treaty, that the suspect is available for investigation and in all judicial processes,” Aquino said.

Last week, Philippine officials said the government would insist on seeking custody of Pemberton, who is accused of killing the 26-year-old Laude in a motel in Olongapo.

Not mandatory

The appearance of Pemberton is not mandatory during the preliminary investigation of the case at the Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office, Senate President Franklin Drilon said yesterday.

“The appearance of the accused is at his discretion, whether or not he wants to appear. He can even choose not to file a counter-affidavit. So it’s up to him. But if the information is filed, that’s a different story,” Drilon said in an interview.

He said Pemberton will be tried under Philippine laws, giving the country criminal jurisdiction over the case.

“The criminal jurisdiction is with the Philippine courts. There is no doubt about that, but the custody is governed by the terms of the VFA,” Drilon said.

The senator said the US soldier should appear in court after the prosecutor found probable cause to indict him.

“A warrant of arrest will be issued and that is the time when the accused will have to appear in court, but not at the fiscal’s level. Whether or not he appears is his own call,” he said.

Drilon was mum on calls to abrogate the VFA between the Philippines and US.

In another development, the Senate yesterday appointed Senators Juan Edgardo Angara and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the oversight committee of the VFA.

‘VFA one-sided’

For his part, Sen. Francis Escudero yesterday reiterated his call to review the VFA.

“The VFA clearly states that the Philippines has criminal jurisdiction over US soldiers involved in a crime in the country, and it is a matter of invoking it with speed and conviction,” Escudero said.

“The VFA, undoubtedly, is one-sided and as such we must always insist and be vigilant with what is accorded us as a matter of sovereign right in that treaty,” he added.

Escudero pointed out that the Olongapo incident “calls for the Philippine authorities’ and the Filipinos’ righteous indignation to fight for custody of the suspect and demand the physical availability of the four US witnesses.”

“We cannot just sit idly by and watch while our laws are being subverted,” he said. – With Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez