Gabriela holds rally near US Embassy ahead of Nicole verdict

About 150 activists held a noisy anti-US protest outside the tightly guarded US Embassy in Manila yesterday, ahead of next week’s verdict in a rape case involving four US Marines.

The protesters, most of them from the women’s group Gabriela, carried placards demanding "Justice for Nicole" - a pseudonym for a 23-year-old woman who accused a Marine of sexually assaulting her a year ago in Subic while his three colleagues allegedly stood by.

The main accused, Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, has denied the charge, saying the sex was consensual. The three others have backed up his testimony. A verdict was expected on Monday.

Police prevented the protesters from getting too close to the seaside embassy compound and they held the rally across the street, blaming the government - a staunch US ally - of not doing enough to protect the woman’s interests.

"This government has long been subservient to the US," said protester Joms Salvador, citing the Visiting Forces Agreement that allows US authorities to keep custody of the accused during the proceedings.

The case has stirred emotions in the former American colony and resurrected controversies linked to the US military’s presence in the Philippines, which has been credited with helping Filipino troops crush Muslim militants in the country’s restive south. — AP