Criminal Rape or Philippine Nationalism?

A horny, drunken US Marine pays the price for deteriorating US-Philippine relations
Sympathizing with convicted rapists is more controversial than appealing for the release of journalists accused of revealing state secrets but it is hard not to see the reflection of the tortured state of Philippine-American relations in the case of US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith. This 21-year-old was recently sentenced to 40 years in jail for the rape in the back of a van of a 23-year-old woman in Olongapo, the raunchy bargirl town that abuts Subic Bay, the former US naval base.
This will not be the first time that accusations of rape have been used by opponents of the US military presence in the Philippines, as elsewhere, to promote a political agenda. Young servicemen who have drunk too much are all too easily assumed to have forced themselves on unwilling local women.
In this case, the Philippine and US governments appear to have played into the hands of leftists and nationalists all too eager to use the case to drum up anti-American emotions and pressure President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to abandon her country’s forces cooperation agreement with the US. It has already caused the US to cancel a joint military exercise. Some women’s groups have also latched onto the case with immediate assumptions of guilt. The whole trial and subsequent events have been carried on in a blaze of publicity and emotion reminiscent of the OJ Simpson case in the US.
Inviting US forces to help suppress Abu Sayyaf and Muslim insurgency in the south and otherwise cooperate militarily was always going to be a risky undertaking. Arroyo gained more plaudits from President George W. Bush than she ever did from her countrymen. It revived memories of the political struggles that led to the removal of the permanent US bases in 1992 and re-ignited the tension within Philippine society between those who grovel to America and those consumed with resentment of the old colonial master.
Now Smith may be the one paying the price. The accuser’s evidence against him was uncorroborated and three companions of Smith who were present in the van testified that the sex was consensual. All parties were said to be drunk at the time. Though present, Smith’s companions were acquitted of being accomplices. The 40-year sentence handed down was also seen as vastly in excess of the norm for rape offences in the Philippines.
Sympathy for Smith is widespread among Filipinos who are all too well aware how often justice is influenced by political and other non-judicial considerations. But nationalist sentiments have also been further fanned by an unseemly dispute over where Smith should be held. Under a US-Philippine Visiting Forces Agreement, military personnel charged with offences are held by the US pending trial but if convicted must serve any sentence locally. Smith is appealing the verdict against him but a judge has ruled that unless and until the conviction is overturned he should be held in a Philippine jail. This has been disputed by the US, with the backing of Arroyo. The two governments have asked the Court of Appeal to release Smith into US custody.
This custody dispute is unfortunate. It is fanning nationalist flames and makes it look as though Smith expects special treatment as a “white American” as one newspaper put it. It diverts attention from the strong likelihood is that Smith is a victim of the political and emotional divide in Philippine attitudes to the US. Meanwhile the US can do nothing about the original verdict without appearing to be in contempt of the Philippines judicial system, an attitude which, however justified, would put the visiting forces agreement in jeopardy. So Smith looks likely to be sacrificed to political opportunism on all sides.

Losses for Clark, Subic seen due to Balikatan cancellation

The Philippines is starting to loose substantial assistance from the US.

By Tonette Orejas - Inquirer

The cancellation of next February’s RP-US Balikatan military exercises will cause "minimal to significant losses" to the economies of Clark, Subic Bay Freeport, and the cities of Angeles and Olongapo.Philippine officials, in separate assessments on Tuesday, said around 5,000 US troops are known to participate in the annual Balikatan exercises. These troops are sent not only to those areas in Central Luzon but also to Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Sangley Point in Cavite, Palawan and Sulu, where they avail themselves of various services either directly or through US military contractors.Levy Laus, president and chief executive officer of the Clark Development Corp. (CDC), estimated a 15-percent decline in the income of tourism-related businesses in this economic zone.Laus could not immediately cite in peso terms the foregone income, but sources in the business community said Holiday Inn alone stands to lose reservations for 60 rooms as a result of the cancellation of the 15-day training. Daily rates for rooms fetch more than P4,000 and villas go for about P10,000.Montevista and Fontana are also known to rent out their rooms and villas to US troops.While landing fees for US military aircraft are waived at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, the CDC was going to see down the drain its share of royalties from the fuel contractor Lubewell, said Victor Jose Luciano, Clark International Airport Corp. president.Some 20 restaurants, 15 duty-free stores and about 100 traders of souvenir items are also going to feel the pinch.Capt. Burrell Parmer, US Marines spokesperson, had said every soldier spends an average of $50 (P2,469) daily on food and drinks."The impact will be significant," Luciano told the Inquirer."It is unfortunate that the Balikatan will be suspended," Laus said.Angeles City, which is outside Clark, will bear "very minimal and insignificant losses" from the war games suspension, Mayor Carmelo Lazatin said. That is because only between 25 and 50 servicemen go "off base" nightly."Most of them stay inside Clark," Lazatin said, pointing out that the 5,000 tourists who flock to the city daily are mostly Europeans and Asians.But on Fields Avenue, the city's red light district, a bar owner said Lazatin could be underestimating the consequences."The girls won't get customers," the bar owner said, referring to the practice by "rest and recreation" contractors of transporting sex workers in vans, taking them to where the servicemen stay in Clark.Quite many though, traveling in groups of five and secured by the local police and military, are known to prefer savoring local cuisine in restaurants declared "relatively safe" from terror threats."Feliciano Salonga, chair of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, said the tourism sector at the free port would likely feel the brunt."Just on one day, we calculated their expenditures at between P2 million and P3 million on food, souvenir items and hotel use," Salonga said.That was enough compensation for the docking fees waived on US war ships that come to Subic's Alava Pier, he said. "Malaki ang mawawala (The losses will be big)," he added.Alma Bulawan, executive director of the women's group Buklod in Olongapo City, welcomed the suspension, saying it would spare bar workers in the city from sexual exploitation.Van driver Alex said around 100 like him stand not to get transport contracts in February. The US military hires van for P1,800 a day, he said.Olongapo City Mayor James Gordon Jr. said the economic losses would be great. He said in the Balikatan exercise last year when US personnel were first allowed to spend liberty or rest and recreation in the city, they spent P3 million in a day alone. He said each soldier spent an average of $30 (P1,481).In Fort Magsaysay, military commanders said about 30 stores and 50 souvenir vendors expect a slump in sales.The cancellation of the exercises was prompted by a custody dispute between US and Philippines authorities over a US Marine convicted of raping a Filipina.