Gagged and Tied
I seldom discuss serious issues in my blog but I just can’t let this one pass.
Last November 1, a group of 6 US army men took a fancy on a young Filipina who was visiting Subic from Zamboanga. They invited her to join them in a karaoke bar then plied her with drinks and maybe more. After having their fun there, they forced her to ride with them around Subic. She protested against this, saying that she had to wait for her sister but they ignored and dragged her into a van being driven by a hired Filipino driver. During the whole ride, loud music was blaring so the driver could hardly hear what was going on. Frenzied cries of “fuck her! fuck her! fuck her!” didn’t escape his attention because their excited chanting overtook the volume of the music. One of the army men tapped the driver on the shoulder and told him to stop the van. There, the men took out the unconscious, hog-tied, naked woman then dumped her in a public place. One of them even threw a condom out the van’s window. There were people strolling around in the area who saw the whole thing and they took pity on the poor girl. They helped her file a case in the precint in Subic.
I read in inq7.net this morning that since the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) started, there has been 3,000 rape cases filed against US officials. They were all dismissed however. According to the paper, Subic Bay officials are reluctant to give cases against US officials. Maybe they think it’s a lost cause. I think maybe they might be right because, as inhumane as this present case is, the lack of cooperation from the US Embassy with regard to the case might make this another statistic to add to unsolved cases against foreign nationals. Under the VFA agreement, criminal litigation and investigation will be limited to 1 year. If the case goes beyond that period, the Philippine government can no longer go after the case and the case would be transferred to the US justice system where it will likely be eaten up and then forgotten.
There has been rumours that the 6 accused men are requesting for a transfer to their Okinawa base. According to the US Embassy, the men are free to do so as long as they’ll be present during court hearings.
Visiting Forces Agreement. What the hell did it ever do for my country? The current government agreed to this pretentious agreement saying it’s all war exercises and it will help fight terrorism within the country. The fucking government should listen to the people for once. They’ve been yapping and yapping about fraud, destabilization plots, etc. that they fail to perform their duties. We put you there, godammit! You should do your job! And now look at what this VFA has brought us. It brought back a war against superpowers and a barely breathing third world country. It brought terrorism - terrorism to Filipino citizens and the hopeless feeling when crimes have been done to some of us and we are aware that the chance of winning a fight like that is like wishing for the Philippines to become a superpower. VFA should be scrapped and those 6 men should be tried in Philippine court. In our land. Where they spread their diseases.
I rest my case.
I agree. I get enraged everytime I watch this news on tv. Sad to say but this will most probably be just forgotten (like many issues) once the media find another hot news. Very disheartening.
The VFA agreement is only 6 pages long, and 4 of that deals with what will happen to the American soldiers in case they get involved in a criminal case/complaint with their host country. They really specified that the US will have custody of their soldiers during trial or until the case is resolved. This is so formulated because of the atrocious records of criminal violations by the American soldiers. There are ways of going around this agreement by insisting on custody but the government will probably not do that because it would want to keep ties with the US government. Diplomacy is sometimes a very dirty game. On the flipside, if the US Embassy let the soldiers go, they will be forfeiting the agreement and there will be legal grounds for revising or scrapping the agreement entirely. But that’s not much of a win for the Filipino people is it? We can just hope that the justice system will do what it’s there for. And rally I guess :)
Grace,
I know! That’s why I just keep mum about other politico issues because I’ve grown disillusioned as to how mucked up issues will turn up in the long run. I love the Philippines, yes, but when it comes to our politics I sing a different tune.
Inkerperson,
The fuck?! Just 6 pages long? And that stupid 6-page document makes this big a dent to our country?! Hmm so I’m wrong pala. US still has the say even if the case gets solved in less than a year. Bet, like what you said, if the US lets the soldiers run free and there becomes a ground for forfeiting VFA, who will stand up and demand they be removed? Maybe some of the more decent politicians but most of them are out to serve their own gains so dangle a couple of dollars in front of them and I bet they’ll insist that the agreement is still valid. I doubt GMA will admit to the “breach of contract” (is this correct terminology?). I can only imagine her doing this if the US sides with the opposition. As for us taking up to the streets, I think that only works with presidents and not all the time.
anak ng pating! teka, hindi pa ba tapos yang VFA na yan? akala ko a couple of years after the twin towers- scrapped na yan, di pa pala.
di bale, i will seek revenge from this part of the world! BWAHAHAHAHA
miss you karen! mwah!
April!
Aba first time ka nag-comment dito ah. Miss you too!