2 US soldiers trash night club, mauls bouncer in Philippines

From the Mindanao Examiner (Nov 18): 2 US soldiers trash night club, mauls bouncer in Philippines

Philippine authorities are investigating two US soldiers who mauled a local bouncer at a night club in Palawan province. The soldiers - Keith Brautigan and Anthony DeSalvo - ganged up on Allen John Gapulao who was only pacifying the two drunken soldiers who were quarrelling with Filipino customers in a bar in Puerto Princesa City. It was not immediately known why the local police failed to arrest the soldiers, who were taking part in a joint military exercise with Filipino troops in the province. The group called Anakbayan condemned the arrogance of the two US soldiers and called on the government to act on the abuses committed by the foreigners, but feared that Manila would cover up the scandal. “Judging from the track record of our government especially that of the Aquino administration, in prosecuting offending foreign soldiers, we doubt that justice will be given to Mr. Gapulao,” Vencer Crisostomo, national chairperson of Anakbayan, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner. Crisostomo blamed the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the U.S. for the continued abuses of American soldiers deployed in the country. US troops were also accused of raping a Filipino woman in the past, but the US Embassy took custody of the soldiers and invoked the VFA in absolving the military men. “For sure, President Benigno Aquino and his fellow puppets at the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the VFA Commission will come to the defense of these offending foreigners by invoking the need to not offend the U.S. and the myth that we need American military aid,” Crisostomo said. There was no immediate statement either from the U.S. Embassy or the VFA Commission about the mauling.
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