AJLPP Update
February 11, 2009
AJLPP: SUPREME COURT DECISION 0N SMITH RAPE CASE CONTRADICTS ITSELF
Los Angeles—The Alliance Philippines (AJLPP) scored the ambivalent and double standard Philippine Supreme Court’s decision that said that US Marine Daniel Smith could be continuously detained in the US Embassy while he appeals his case in court.
AJLPP condemns the self- contradictory rule that has been the hallmark of the Supreme Court ever since time immemorial. The ruling that the convicted marine must be jailed in a Philippine facility that cannot be implemented just perpetrates the colonial status of the Philippines under the rule of the United States.
The high court ruled by a vote of 9-4 on the latest ruling over the jurisdiction and interpretation of the VFA in court. At he same time, the high court ruled that the VFA is legal.
Meanwhile, the AJLPP agrees with the Gabriela party-list Rep. Lisa Maza statement that said the high court’s decision was an “affront to [Philippine] sovereignty.”
“With this decision, the court has virtually given the United States a free hand in dealing with criminal offenders from the US military and dims the hopes of attaining justice for women and children victims of abuse and violence,” Maza said in a statement.
She said US troops had sown havoc in areas they had visited, thus buttressing fears of human rights abuse in provinces where the Balikatan would be held.
“We can expect more impunity now that the Supreme Court has rendered our courts limp and toothless in the face of US criminal violations,” Maza said.
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