AJLPP: SUPREME COURT DECISION ON SMITH RAPE CASE CONTRADICTS ITSELF (tags)
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.
ON SMITH CUSTODY RULING (tags)
News sources today reported that the ruling of Makati trial court Judge Benjamin Pozon for convicted US Marine Daniel Smith to remain at the Makati City Jail “reflects a misunderstanding of Philippine obligations under the terms of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) during judicial proceedings,” the United States embassy said Wednesday. The embassy statement, issued a few hours after Pozon’s ruling, reiterated the American position that Smith, being a member of the US military, should remain in US custody pending final judicial proceedings -- including the appeal of the 40-year sentence on Smith for raping a Filipina last year -- of the case.