Jalandoni said he felt he would be ineffective as a member of the prosecution panel because he would "keep on worrying" about whether his findings "may be inconsistent with the position of (Gonzalez)."
Gonzalez said Tuesday he found no conspiracy in the alleged rape of a 22-year-old Filipina in Subic on Nov. 1, 2005. He decided to name only one of the four accused US Marines as the principal defendant, who could face capital punishment. He said that "to satisfy the mob," the three others would be charged as accessories; they could face up to 20 years in prison.
"With that kind of development, your initiative and momentum will be stunted," Jalandoni told the Associated Press. "You become frustrated and disappointed."
He also said: "I was thinking, what if she (the plaintiff) was a relative, or my wife, or my daughter? Does it mean we cannot go after them? Just because they are Americans, they are above the law?"
Jalandoni said he would rather focus on his office’s "heavy workload" of other cases.
Responding to Jalandoni’s statements, Gonzalez said that if the Olongapo City prosecutor "is openly disagreeing with me, he is free to resign."
He said he will grant Jalandoni’s request to quit, adding that the move will not affect the government’s cases against the US servicemen.
"I downgraded (the other three) to accessories (due to) the fact that they were there, they had knowledge (of the rape) and they just abandoned her," Gonzalez said, referring to US servicemen Dominic Duplantis, Keith Silkwood and Chad Carpentier.
Principal suspect Daniel Smith faces a sentence of life imprisonment or the death penalty if convicted of rape.
The four Americans were originally accused of raping the Filipina after taking part in joint Philippine-US military exercises in the former US naval base in Zambales.
Gonzalez said the alleged victim’s own account indicated that only one person had raped her.
"There was no gang rape. In all the statements of the woman, there was only one who molested her," he said. "There is no evidence of conspiracy."
Anticipating criticism for this, Gonzalez said he would not be swayed by criticism from the victim’s mother: "Whatever she says, I don’t care. All the affidavits submitted before were affidavits of the people inside the (van where the alleged rape happened). Even in the affidavit of the victim, she said it was only Smith who raped her," Gonzalez noted.
He said Silkwood, Duplantis and Carpentier could post bail but cannot leave the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Malacañang took up the cudgels for the Department of Justice (DOJ), which is now under fire for reducing the charges against three American soldiers accused of rape, saying there was no reason to doubt the objectivity of Philippine authorities in handling the matter.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said there would be no whitewash in the conduct of the investigation and the DOJ decision was not made to avoid offending the US government.
"The justice department is doing its job objectively and impartially based on the pieces of evidence and testimonies at hand," Bunye said.
The conduct of the Subic rape case trial "is not a political issue affecting our relations with the United States as both countries are one in the search for truth and justice," he added.
Bunye also said all parties concerned, as well as all affected sectors, should expect a fair and impartial trial of the case: "Let us keep our emotions at bay and allow the light of reason and fact to unravel the truth."
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said it is up to the DOJ to handle the case and make sure that it finishes the trial within the one-year period required under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
"I don’t think they need any directive from Malacañang," he said, adding that DOJ prosecutors could determine what charges the US servicemen must face.
US Ambassador Kristie Kenney told reporters that the American servicemen will comply with all the laws that apply in the rape case, adding that "we want to see justice served in an impartial fashion."
The US Marines maintain that only one of them had sex with the woman and that the sex was consensual.
The men are in the custody of the US embassy, which has refused to hand them over to local authorities until the trial starts, citing a provision under the VFA between the Philippines and the US that allows the US to keep soldiers in their custody during legal proceedings.
Gonzalez noted, however, that Smith did not file a counter-affidavit denying the charges of rape against him.
"I sustained the charge of rape against Smith because he did not controvert the allegation against him by the victim," Gonzalez said.
The alleged rape triggered anti-American street protests and leftist groups have used the issue to attack the Philippine government’s ties with US. — Jose Rodel Clapano, Aurea Calica and AP