President Benigno Aquino III chats with former President Fidel Ramos at ceremonies marking the 79th anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. (Malacanang Photo Bureau)
Former president Fidel Ramos said on Thursday said the issue of who gets custody of Joseph Scott Pemberton should not be allowed to damage Philippine-US relations.
Yet Ramos gave a hint of where his sentiments might lie in the matter, saying: “We are in the battlefield and we are the victims of bullying.”
Ramos, who attended the ceremonies marking the 79th anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, was asked if he thought the Philippines should insist on taking custody of Pemberton, the US Marine charged with the October murder of transgender woman Jennifer Laude in Olongapo City.
The US has rejected the Philippines’ request for custody of Pemberton, made after the Olongapo reegional trial court ordered the American's arrest, invoking the Visiting Forces Agreement.
The suspect is detained in a facility within Camp Aguinaldo but remains under US guard and jurisdiction.
Responding to the question, Ramos, who was AFP chief and defense secretary before becoming president, said: “You know, on that issue, for all of us, (it) must not be the cause for the damage of Philippine-US relations because there are higher interests.”
Then he added: “I am sorry for the families (involved in the case) and I’m sorry also for the US side but in this case, it must be our higher interests (that must prevail), and the higher interests are Philippine interests because we are right... ”
“We are in the battlefield and we are the victims of bullying,” he said, but added, “hindi ko na sasabihin. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas (I won’t say by whom. Long live the Philippines).”
On Thursday, two powerful Senate leaders called for a review on the provisions of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) amid the "tug-of-war" between the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the embassy of the United States over the Pemberton custody issue.
Senate President Franklin Drilon and Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero, made twin calls on the Executive Department to direct the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to initiate the move of revisiting the VFA since DFA has the sole prerogative over foreign policies.
Drilon backed the call to review the VFA as he himself expressed displeasure over the defiant stance of the US Embassy in turning over Pemberton to government custody following the issuance of the warrant for his arrest. "They are too technical and bookish in their interpretation."
The DFA, Drilon said, should now take the cue in proposing the review and pursuing the revision of the VFA.
"In my view, the Philippines must initiate the request for the review in the light if recent events, and start the negotiation process. It would be good to revisit the provisions on detention and custody to align them with our prevailing Penal Code as well as Rules of Procedure," Drilon said.
Both Drilon and Escudero explained that the authority to review the VFA is with the Executive and not the Senate.
The power to ratify treaties is vested in the President while the Senate’s authority is to concur or withhold its consent, they emphasized.
Escudero said the review should also include the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), with a view to resolving the sticky issue on jurisdiction and custody.
"I don't fault America for protecting and fighting for the interest of their soldier, but America should also not fault us for trying to get custody or trying to get custody, to find ways to get custody. They should also expect that we're out to protect the interest of our countrymen, especially the camp of the victim," he said.
"Whatever will be agreed upon, anything better than what we have right now is welcome."
"I also expect the government to continue asking for custody, to find ways to convince the US to give custody over Pemberton to our government," said Escudero.
At the House of Representatives, two activist lawmakers said Malacanang should insist on Pemberton's custody.
“If we fail to get custody of Pemberton, the US obligation to present him in court will cease if the trial will not be terminated within one year as Article 5, paragraph 6 of the Visiting Forces Agreement provides. This means the US can spirit him out of the country after one year," Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares said.
"This is another reason why the VFA is not only unconstitutional but also a violation of our sovereignty and national pride,” he added.
He said the Department of Foreign Affairs should override the US's refusal to hand over Pemberton, calling this a disregard for Philippine criminal laws and jurisidction of the courts and law enforcement authorities over crimes committed in the country against Filipinos.
“It is unthinkable that the government should allow this brazen affront to the Filipino nation and downright revolting that the government failed to arrest and take custody of the suspected assailant Pemberton and the US authority and custody prevailed over the American suspect of killing a Filipino on Philippine soil,” he said.
Colmenares' fellow Bayan Muna representative, Carlos Isagani Zarate, called the US refusal "a slap on the Aquino administration's misguided and lackey-like foreign policy that takes the pronouncements of the US government as final word from the real boss," and demanded the scrapping of the VFA "and all the other unequal security agreements and treaties with the US, like the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).”
For her part, even as she reiterated her stance that Pemberton should be put under Philippine custody, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila de Lima acknowledged that there are provisions in the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that need to be reviewed in order to prevent complications if similar incidents occur in the future.
"I maintain my position that the Philippine government will ask for and insist on his custody, especially since there is a warrant of arrest," De Lima said, adding that the murder of Jeffrey "Jennifer" Laude, in her view, is an "extraordinary circumstance" that warrants his custody by Philippine authorities.
De Lima pointed out that even the indictment filed by the city prosecutor of Olongapo City before Branch 74 of the Regional Trial Court said the qualifying circumstances for murder are all present in the Laude case namely cruelty, abuse of superior strength and treachery.
But in supporting a review of the VFA, De Lima said she understand the earlier call of Senate President Franklin Drilon for the government to initiate a review of the agreement, especially on the issues of detention and custody, since, she stressed, the VFA has no implementing guidelines on these matters up to now.
"Senator Drilon has a point and that's why I think problems like this may recur since there is no implementing guideline. There are vague provisions in the VFA that causes problems," she explained.
Despite more than two years of discussion, De Lima said, both parties -- the Philippines and the United States -- have yet to come up with the implementing guidelines, and this, she said, is due to the parties varying interpretations and positions on the implementations of some provisions of the agreement.
The US Embassy on Tuesday rejected the request of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) seeking custody of Pemberton who is presently detained at a facility inside Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
US Ambassador Philip Goldberg also reiterated the position Thursday, but vowed full cooperation with Philippine authorities on the case.
For his part, military spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla said the Armed Forces of the Philippines is ready to provide security for the transfer of Pemberton who is being hailed by the Olongapo City Court for his arraignment on Friday.
Pemberton is presently detained in a container van at the highly restricted compound of the MDB-SEB facility at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
"Yes, we understand that a court directive is in the works," Padilla told Interaksyon.com, when asked about the court order.
Earlier, the court issued a warrant for Pemberton's arrest after the murder case was filed against him for the killing of Jeffrey Laude alias Jennifer.
Pemberton would most likely be transported the US Embassy, possibly via helicopter.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/101414/fvr-pemberton-custody-shouldnt-mar-relations-with-us-but-ph-bullied
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