DFA chief defends VFA

From InterAksyon (Oct 22): DFA chief defends VFA

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario on Wednesday defended the Visiting Forces Agreement, saying that the pact is the reason why the Philippines has jurisdiction over the murder of Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude by suspect United States Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton.

In a statement read before the hearing on the case by the Senate committee on foreign relations, del Rosario said Philippine jurisdiction over the Subic rape case of 2005 was also due to the VFA.

“There have been many questions as to whether the VFA is actually an instrument which allows us to pursue the ends of justice, or if it is an unfair agreement,” del Rosario said.

“Many have called for the abrogation of the VFA due to this incident, and other incidents such as the Subic rape case of 2005. However, it is precisely because the VFA is there that we are actually able to exercise jurisdiction over these servicemen,” he added.

Except for offenses solely against the security, property, or person of the United States government and personnel, del Rosario emphasized that “under the VFA, the Philippines unquestionably enjoys the primary right to exercise jurisdiction over offenses committed by US servicemen in the Philippines.”

The DFA secretary also noted that “the constitutionality of the Visiting Forces Agreement has been upheld by the Supreme Court in the cases of Bayan v. Zamora, Lim v. Executive Secretary, and Nicolas v. Romulo.”

Citing the Supreme Court in Nicolas vs. Romulo, the country’s chief diplomat said of the custody issue: “We are aware that prior to conviction, the US has the right to retain custody over its servicemen under Article 5, section 6 of the VFA. But such right can be waived, and we affirm that if a warrant of arrest is issued, we will request the US to turn over the serviceman’s custody to us.”

Bottom line

At the same time, the DFA secretary said the United States has been informed that the Philippines will not accept Pemberton’s detention in the US embassy.

“The bottom line, Your Honor, is that the US is fully aware that for the Philippine Government, it will be totally unacceptable for them to detain Private 1st Class Pemberton within the premises of the US Embassy, as was done in the Lance Corporal Daniel Smith case,” he said, referring to the case of the principal suspect in the Subic rape case.

Del Rosario also told the Senate hearing of Pemberton’s transfer from the USS Peleliu to Camp Aguinaldo.

When the country hosted US military bases, US had jurisdiction over crimes committed by US servicemen inside the bases, he said.

“Unlike in previous times when the country was hosting US bases, the Philippines now has the authority to prosecute US servicemen in the Philippines, to try them in the Philippines, and if convicted, to jail them in the Philippines,” del Rosario said.

“And because of this, we are actually now exercising our jurisdiction over this heinous crime allegedly committed by a US serviceman. We have not hesitated to inform the US authorities that the Philippines is exercising its primary jurisdiction over this case, and we are not conceding this right. We fully expect the US therefore to cooperate with the Philippine Government in the pursuit of justice,” he added.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/97745/dfa-chief-defends-vfa