Philippines allows US to take custody of convicted US rapist (Roundup)

Dec 30, 2006, 17:41 GMT

Manila - The Philippine government has turned over a US Marine convicted of rape to the custody of the US Embassy, the victim's lawyer said Saturday.

Evalyn Ursua, counsel of the 23-year-old rape victim, said Lance Corporal Daniel Smith was transferred late Friday from the Makati City jail to the custody of the US Embassy without a court order.

Ursua characterized the transfer 'in the dead of the night' as another rape perpetrated by the US against the Philippine Constitution, saying that the government had succumbed to pressure from the US.

'They have raped our Constitution, they have raped our court,' she said. 'They have raped our law.'

Ursua vowed to file an impeachment rap against Arroyo if it was proven that she had a direct hand in the transfer of Smith.

US embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop confirmed that the US had taken custody of Smith but did not give details as to who authorized the transfer.

'I can confirm that (Smith) has been transferred from Makati City jail back to the US military custody,' Lussenhop told a local television station shortly after the transfer.

Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus insisted that the transfer was legal and in conformity with the visiting forces agreement (VFA) signed by Manila and Washington.

Women activists led a group of more than 200 people who marched to the US embassy to denounce the alleged bullying by Washington and the subservience of the government of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Last week, the US announced the cancellation of joint military exercises with the Philippines due to the custody issue. Smith, 21, was convicted of rape on December 4.

The US Embassy said Smith's case had put into question the security of US servicemen participating in joint military exercises in the Philippines despite the VFA that was supposed to guarantee US custody in such incidents.

Smith has been detained at the Makati City jail in metropolitan Manila since he was convicted of raping a 23-year-old Filipino woman in Olongapo City, 90 kilometres north of Manila, in November 2005.

The US Embassy has demanded Smith's custody while his lawyers appealed his conviction, noting that the VFA provides for US custody until all judicial procedures are completed.

But the judge that convicted Smith insisted that the US Embassy could no longer have custody of him.

Smith's lawyers have raised the issue with the Court of Appeals, which has yet to issue a decision on the petition.

Smith was one of thousands of American soldiers who participated in a joint military exercises in the Philippines last year.

Smith's three co-accused - Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood, Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier - were acquitted due to lack of evidence. They have already returned to their base in Okinawa, Japan.