Getting smooth on Smith

There are just so many bleeding hearts for rape victim ‘Nicole’ whose case has turned into a national tele-novela, with international audience to boot. The twists and turn of events in her case were conveniently spiced up by blunders and boo-boos by some over-eager officials on both sides.

The latest was the howls of protests triggered by the Court of Appeals (CA) ruling the other day that upheld the government’s decision to transfer US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith back to the custody of American authorities at the US Embassy in Roxas Boulevard, Manila. The 38-page CA ruling upheld Makati judge Benjamin Pozon in keeping Smith under temporary detention at the Makati City Jail pending mutually agreed upon place of detention for the convicted US Marine by officials of both the Philippines and the US. On the other hand, the CA also affirmed the transfer of Smith in the dead hours of Dec. 29. The Appellate Court, though, sternly noted Smith’s transfer back to the US Embassy premises became moot and academic because he was moved out even while they have yet to rule on his lawyers’ petition to bring him out of the Makati City Jail.

And yet, if you read this CA ruling, even a non-lawyer can conclude that it was a win-win ruling. Proof of which is everyone, from the Palace to even the camp of "Nicole" and those of Smith felt vindicated. At the end of the ruling, the CA pointed to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) as the ultimate culprit over all of these hullabaloos.

The custody provision in the Dec. 4 ruling by Pozon that convicted Smith to the rape charge by "Nicole" was really the best under the circumstances because there was really nothing in the VFA where any US military personnel would be detained once convicted of crimes committed here in our country. And mind you, the ambiguity of the VFA on this specific issue applies both ways in case a Filipino military personnel commits a crime in the US. That is why there are now calls from the Philippine government side to review and revisit the VFA and rightly so, after lessons learned from this particular case.

At the height of protests over the spiriting out of Smith back to the US Embassy compound, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ronaldo Puno bravely emerged to accept full responsibility to the questioned transfer of Smith. As the DILG Secretary, Puno is the immediate chief of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) which is the agency that supervises local jails all over the country, including that of the Makati City Jail. The swift Executive action taken by Puno saved the day for the Arroyo administration from international embarrassment of being assailed for non-compliance with treaty obligations.

But as Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Alfredo Lim have aptly pointed out, the case of custody battle over Smith involves not only our sovereignty but also the sovereignty of another country. Technically, the US Embassy premises is considered US territory under international laws in the same manner that our Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. is. But to the credits of the US Embassy, headed by Ambassador Kristie Kenney, they agreed to allow the Philippine government to check upon Smith while under their custody. This was contained in the agreement signed last Dec. 22 between Kenney and Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo that was used as basis of the CA ruling to uphold the transfer of Smith.

Based on this agreement, Puno immediately created a five-man inspection team to regularly check on Smith at the US Embassy and ensure that his detention inside their facility conforms with the provisions of the VFA on custodial detention of convicted military personnel. Puno designated DILG Undersecretary Marius Corpus who was given full access to Smith’s detention cell at the Rowe building in the US Embassy compound. This building was obviously named after the slain JUSMAG Col. Nick Rowe who was assassinated here by local communist hitmen.

Corpus led his panel in their first inspection of Smith’s cell last Jan. 2, which was earlier declared an American holiday (in observance of the death of former US President Gerald Ford). Despite the short notice and a holiday that day, the US Embassy authorities displayed good faith in allowing Corpus and company to conduct their ocular inspection on Smith.

The pseudo-nationalists and communist bullies naturally cried again their usual mantra that the Philippines remain subservient to US imperialists. As sober and experienced voices like those of Enrile’s and Lim’s have cited the real and complex issue transcends the custody row over Smith. Instead of possibly throwing RP-US relations in jeopardy, obviously partisan declarations, our politicians should step aside and leave the judicial review to take its course. The lawyers of "Nicole" have announced yesterday their intentions to raise this before the Supreme Court (SC), the custody of Smith, to be returned under Philippine jurisdiction.

The melodramatic outbursts by some of our politicians, particularly by opposition personalities and left-wing leaders, only add to confusion and division of our people rather than provide reason for us Filipinos to rally behind "Nicole" as the aggrieved party here. Why are these people not making noise over our poor Filipina worker who was gang-raped in Kuwait last week? Obviously, these left-leaning groups could not get as much media mileage if they hold protest pickets at the Kuwait Embassy compared to their protest vigils at the US Embassy. But last week’s case of the gang-raped Filipina was already the 19th incident involving our women workers becoming victims of sex crimes in this tiny oil-rich country. I just wish our leaders would get their priorities straight.

* * *

My good friend and veteran journalist Nestor Mata is again flexing his baritone vocal chords in a mini concert next week when he sings his heart out for his favorite maiden, the classical music. Mata will join painter Allan Cosio, tenor, who will sing 14 arias from Giuseppe Verdi’s operas (Luisa Miller, I Lombardi, Aida, Un Ballo in Maschera, Rigoletto, Otello, La Forza del Destino, La Traviata, Macbeth and Il Trovatore). Mata will sing with Cosio the duet "Solenne in Quest’ora" from La Forza del Destino. Jude Areopagita is assisting artist. The concert will be held Jan. 9, at 7 in the evening at the Dalisay Aldaba Hall, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City. Admission is free.

* * *

Write to [email protected]