The recent killing of Jennifer Laude is only one in a long list of crimes and abuses by American troops under the Visiting Forces Agreement.
Because of the VFA, American soldiers involved in various heinous crimes and other violations of local law are able to go scot-free. Like many cases in the past, the American soldier suspected of having killed Laude remains under the authority of the US military and has not been subjected to an independent investigation by the local police.
Crimes against individuals
1) The rape by Lance Corporal Daniel Smith of then 28-year old “Nicole” as three other American soldiers (Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier) cheered him on in Olongapo City on November 1, 2005. Smith was convicted in December 2006 and sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment. The US government refused to cede custody over Smith during the entire trial. Even after his conviction, US Embassy personnel took custody of Smith and “imprisoned” him within embassy grounds. In 2009, Smith was flown to the US after the Court of Appeals reversed his earlier conviction.
2) The mauling by Master Sergeant Steve Saunders of DZRH reporter Henry Araneta in early 2007 at a restaurant in Maguindanao. Saunders was armed despite the election gun ban in force at that time.
3) The beating in March 2000 of taxi driver Marcelo Batestil in Cebu City by three American soldiers. The perpetrators were flown back to the US immediately after the incident.
Crimes within camps and/or during “joint exercises” and “humanitarian missions”
1) The death of Bizma Juhan, 50, a resident of Indanan, Sulu after she was hit by shrapnel from an M203 during live fire exercises by American soldiers in September 2006.
2) The shooting by American soldiers of Arsid Baharun on June 21, 2004 while the latter was walking in a farm that Americans were using as a firing range in Zamboanga City. To silence them, the US paid the Baharun family P50,000.
3) The death in August 2004 of Sardiya Abu Calderon, 54, who suffered a heart attack when a helicopter bearing American and Filipino soldiers suddenly landed at her farm in Manarapan, North Cotabato.
4) The death of Gregan Cardeño inside the barracks occupied by US troops in Camp Ranao, Marawi City on February 2, 2010. Cardeño served as a translator for the US soldiers. The US and the AFP claimed that Cardeño committed suicide but his family refused to believe this. Capt. Javier Ignacio, a friend of the Cardeños, helped in investigating his death. On March 5, Ignacio was killed by motorcyle-riding gunmen while he was on his way to the police station to give a formal statement on the case.
5) Intimidation and disturbance by American soldiers led by Master Sergeant Ronburg, at the Panamao District Hospital in Sulu on November 20, 2007. The American soldiers imposed a curfew in the area and threatened to shoot anyone found within the hospital premises after 6 p.m. The restrictions were imposed for a month while the American troops were in the vicinity and set up camp beside the hospital.
Killings of civilians in combat and intelligence operations with the AFP
1) Indiscriminate bombings in Barangay Tee, Datu Piang, Maguindanao on September 8, 2008 where at least six civilians were killed.
2) Indiscriminate shooting by joint AFP and US military forces in Ipil, Maimbung, Sulu that resulted in the massacre of eight civilians, including two children and a pregnant woman on February 4, 2008. Sandrawina Wahid, the widow of Ibnol Wahid, one of the victims, saw American soldiers on the ship where the bodies of those who were killed were brought, including her husband. The attacking troops were from the Light Reaction Company which was directly trained by US troops.
3) Bombing incidents at Butian Marsh, Maguindanao in January 2005 and November 2004 that resulted in yet undetermined numbers of civilian casualties.
4) A raid on an alleged Abu Sayyaf camp in Barangay Sipangkot, Umapoy Island, Tawi-tawi on May 25, 2004 that resulted in the death of brothers Ulong, Jumadil and Ibrahim Malla. Witnesses said that at least four American soldiers were with the soldiers and policemen who conducted the operations.
5) Shooting by American soldier Sgt. Reggie Lane of Buyong-buyong Isnijal in Barangay Kanas, Tuburan, Sulu on July 25, 2002. Dr. Julius Cesar Aguila, the doctor who treated Isnijal, confirmed that Sergeant Lane was one of the soldiers who brought Isnijal to the hospital. Dr. Aguila personally knew Lane because they had met during medical missions conducted by American soldiers in Lamitan, Basilan. Isnijal died at the hospital. In 2004, Dr. Aguila was killed, with the motive and the killer still unknown to date.
Other crimes
1) The destruction by the USS Guardian in 2013 of the Tubbataha Reef, a protected area in the Sulu Sea. More than 2,300 square meters of coral reef was destroyed, with experts estimating that it would take at least 250 years for the reef to revert to its former state.
2) The dumping of toxic chemicals into Subic Bay by the MT Glenn Guardian in 2012.
[Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist
Party of the Philippines
http://www.philippinerevolution.net/publications/ang_bayan/20141207/jennifer-s-killing-and-other-crimes-by-us-troops-under-the-vfa
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