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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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MANILA --- The Department of Foreign Affairs on November 15 formally notified the United States Embassy in Manila to require the six accused US Marines to appear in court for the preliminary hearing of charges that they raped a 22-year-old Filipina on November 1 in Subic Freeport.
Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, chair of the Presidential Committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement, said the US Embassy promised to comply with the summons.
The embassy is keeping custody of the six Marines.
The hearing will be held on November 23.
Under the VFA, the Philippines exercises criminal jurisdiction over the American servicemen and the US maintains custody of them.
On Thursday, however, lawmakers slammed the Departments of Justice and Foreign Affairs them for negligence and ignorance of the provisions of the US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and called for a revision of the VFA.
A congressional bicameral panel sought clarification of VFA provisions concerning jurisdiction and custody of the Americans accused of raping a 22-year-old Filipino woman on Nov. 1 at the Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales at the conclusion of counterterrorism exercises in the Philippines.
During the hearing, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez was asked to explain why the Americans were turned over immediately to the US authorities.
Asked why the Filipino officials yielded custody, Gonzalez said the US military attaché invoked Article 6 of the VFA, which states that the United States should have immediate custody of its personnel.
Gonzalez said this provision made US custody mandatory except when the case was extraordinary or of particular importance to the Philippines, in which case the government could request custody.
Asked if this was done, Gonzalez said: “General Calimlim should explain that,” referring to General Jose Calimlim, deputy administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
In a statement issued in Olongapo, Calimlim said the prosecutor that Gonzalez had promised to dispatch failed to show up before Colonel Terry Cook, the US Embassy military attaché, took the servicemen from the aircraft carrier USS Essex, which then departed.
“Things happened fast,” said Calimlim. He added that he did not negotiate with the Americans. He said it was SBMA Administrator Armand Areza and Chair Feliciano G. Salonga who did.
The National Bureau of Investigation has obtained DNA samples from the victim and will compare the result with the evidence taken from the van where the girl was allegedly raped.
The victim’s lawyer, Katrina Legarda, on November 15, formally asked the Department of Justice to transfer the venue where the rape charges will be filed.
Legarda cited instances in the past when rape and other sexual abuse cases committed by US servicemen were dismissed by courts in Olongapo City, to which the free port belongs.
She said it has been the policy of her group, the Child Justice League, to ask that such cases be handled by the justice department.
“This request is being made in view of our previous experience with the Office of the City Prosecutor of Olongapo City, which has dismissed rape and other sexual abuse cases,” Legarda said.
Justice Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez, however, is against transferring the case to his department.
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Bangsamoro Women spokesperson Amirah Ali Lidasan (Merpu Roa)
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NEW YORK --- The recent rape of a 22-year old Filipina woman by six American Marines in the Philippines, has sent shock waves among Filipino women’s organized movement, fueling a series of protests against US troops in the Philippines and fora on women’s rights.
Filipino women activists also attended a forum in Judson Memorial Church to discuss war and resistance in the Philippine experience through women’s eyes and tackled the impact of US foreign policies on Filipino women.
On Monday, November 14, members of Gabriela network USA and Women’s Anti-Imperialist League (WAIL) held a picket in front of the Philippine Consulate on Fifth Ave. to demand the abrogation of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
“The talks regarding the transfer of the six U.S. Marines suspected of raping a 22-year old Filipina from the Philippines to Okinawa, Japan is a glaring example of the more than century-long inequitable , colonial relationship between the U.S. and the Philippines. It is a glaring example of the constant violence and violation of a nation’s sovereignty perpetrated by the U.S. military and U.S. intervention in the Philippines,” said Dorothea Mendoza, secretary general of Gabriela Network.
A preliminary hearing on the rape case is set on November 23 at the Olongapo Prosecutor’s office.
Gabriela and other women’s group are at loggerheads with Philippine officials because they said the government had repeatedly succumbed to U.S. demands.
Invoking provisions of the VFA, U.S. said it has a jurisdiction over army personnel if a crime is committed while on official duty.
“Clearly, visiting a karaoke bar is not official. It is the duty of the U.S. personnel to respect the laws of the Philippines,” said Ms. Mendoza.
Over 3,000 rape cases against Americans in Subic Bay have been dismissed for many years, Gabriela’s hand-out said.
Brandishing placards and chanting slogans, members of WAIL and Gabriela called for justice for all victims of human rights abuses. “As women living in the U.S., we demand that the U.S. government do not interfere in the proceedings, in the affairs of a sovereign nation, that it withdraws all U.S. troops from the Philippines,” their statement said.
Similar protests were held in Chicago, Irvine, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Portland, Pullman/Washington State University, San Diego, San Francisco/Bay Area, Seattle, and Washington, DC to condemn the rape.
Another militant group, Bayan, also held protests in New York City the previous week.
There are over 1,200 U.S. troops stationed in the island of Mindanao. Over 4,000 American troops stationed in Asia, regularly come to Subic for “ rest , recreation and good entertainment.”
Amirah Lidasan, spokesperson of Bangsamoro Women, who flew from Mindanao to New York, said many U.S. troops were doing intelligence work in Mindanao and actual military exercises.
She also said that the U.S. had shipped arms to Mindanao last month and the ship was sighted in Zamboanga port. She said that U.S. military presence in Mindanao led to more military aggression in her region.
What her region needs are assistance to uplift the lives of the poor, genuine land reform that would greatly benefit the Muslim people and would free them from the bondage of feudalism.
She said the Philippine military recently murdered a pregnant woman and killed her 14-year old brother when army troopers opened fire at their house in Mindanao.
“Inflaming the militant women’s movement is the unabashed support of the Arroyo government to the US’ war, offering Filipino soldiers as combat troops, even as millions of Filipinos go hungry and homeless,” said Emmi De Jesus, deputy secretary general of Gabriela–Philippines who spoke at Judson Memorial Church here.
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Washington, D.C. --- After waging a battle for over 60 years to gain recognition for their service, Filipino World War ll veterans were honored by the U.S. Senate with a resolution crediting the Filipino veterans for their “defense of democratic ideals and their great contributions during World War II”.
The resolution, approved on Veterans’ Day, was introduced by Virginia Senator George Allen. It was co-sponsored by Senators: John Warner (R-VA), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Daniel Akaka (D-HI).
“I consider it a moral obligation of the United States to look after the welfare of the Philippine Army veterans,” Allen said, in explaining his sponsorship of the resolution.
The resolution was a welcome development for the Filipino veterans of World War II. It recognizes the important role they played in fighting side by side with American troops against the Japanese forces.
But the Filipino veterans are still fighting to be recognized as soldiers of the US Army when they fought in the war. To the veterans, being recognized as such would men receiving benefits due them as soldiers of the US Army.
Allen’s resolution cited other resolutions, proclamations and statements issued by US presidents recognizing the gallantry of the Filipinos in fighting with the Americans.
On July 26, 1941, anticipating the aggression of Japanese invasion forces in the Asia Pacific region, as well as the imminent conflict between the United States and Japan, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a military order, calling the military forces of the Government of Commonwealth of the Philippines into armed service under the command of United States Army officers led by General Douglas MacArthur.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Government began a four -year war with the United States with their stealth bombing attacks of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Clark Air Field, Philippines, and led to the death of tens of thousands of American and Filipino soldiers and countless civilians.
On February 20, 1946, President Harry Truman stated, “Philippine Army veterans are nationals of the United States and will continue in that status until July 4, 1946. They fought, as American nationals, under the American flag, and under the direction of our military leaders. They fought with gallantry and courage under most difficult conditions.”
On October 17, 1996, President William J. Clinton issued a proclamation on the anniversary of the 1944 return of United States forces under General MacArthur to liberate the Philippines.
Clinton said, “I urge all Americans to recall the courage, sacrifice, and loyalty of Filipino Veterans of World War II and honor them for their contribution to our freedom.”
On July 26, 2001, President George W. Bush, in his greetings to the Filipino WWII veterans said, `More than 120,000 Filipinos fought with unwavering loyalty and great gallantry under the command of General Douglas MacArthur.
“The combined United States-Philippine forces distinguished themselves by their valor and heroism in defense of freedom and democracy. Thousands of Filipino soldiers gave their lives in the battles of Bataan and Corregidor.
“These soldiers won for the United States the precious time needed to disrupt the enemy’s plan for conquest in the Pacific. During the three long years following these battles, the Filipino people valiantly resisted a brutal Japanese occupation with an indomitable spirit and steadfast loyalty to America.”
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MANILA --- Less than 10 days before the 23rd Southeast Asian Games unfolds in the Philippines, one participating country has already accused Filipino sports officials of rigging the games.
Nguyen Hong Minh, head of Vietnam’s delegation to the SEA Games, said on that the Philippines will win the overall championship in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games because the results were already “fixed.”
Minh’s statement appeared Nov. 10 in the ThanhNiennews.com, the Web site for Than Nien Daily, a widely circulated daily based in Ho Chi Minh City with a readership of over two million every week.
Minh said that “host Philippines has ‘fixed’ with some other nations how many medals each country will end up with.”
“I received information that leaders of some delegations to the Games had confidential meetings to ‘allot’ medals,” said Minh.
The SEA Games will open on November 27 in Manila.
To prove the claim, Minh gave Phuong a rundown of the medal count, based on what was agreed during the said “confidential meetings” — Philippines 120, Thailand 90, Indonesia and Vietnam, 60-70, Malaysia 50-60, Singapore 40 and Myanmar, Brunei and East Timor, 30-40.
In the same report, Minh told the Web site that “the host scrapped some events in which it was strong, like wushu, pencat silat and wrestling.”
Minh also accused the organizing committee - the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee - of playing “tricks,” like arranging “awkward” schedules.
For instance, Minh pointed out, “the Men’s 800 m was scheduled for the morning and the 1,500 m in the afternoon of the same day. Some countries had athletes who were strong in both events while the Philippines was not.”
Minh said in a press conference held in Hanoi on Wednesday that as a result (of alleged fixing) “Vietnam’s gold medal tally may drop by some 20 from the earlier estimate of 60 to 70.
“To aid the nefarious scheme, the organizers planned to have referees mostly from Southeast Asian countries,” the Vietnamese official further said.
Minh revealed that in the 2003 Sea Games in Vietnam, “most of the referees were invited from non-regional countries to make sure everything was seen to be above board.”
But Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee president Jose ‘Peping’ Cojuangco Jr. quickly denied Minh’s allegation.
“The SEA Games always adhere to an atmosphere of friendly competition,” said Cojuangco. “I don’t think any responsible official would say those things. I think it could be a case of misinterpretation.”
The Philippines finished third and second, respectively, in the two previous staging of the sportsfest in the country, including the 1991 Manila Games where the Filipino bets won 91 golds but narrowly lost the general championship to Indonesia.
Athletics and chess chief Go Teng Kok had also been asked by a Singaporean writer regarding the issue in a long distance call Wednesday.
“I was being asked if it is true since the same story was being reported in Singapore. But I told him it isn’t true. You cannot rig a big event like the SEA Games,” said Go, who also referred the matter to Philsoc secretary-general Steve Hontiveros.
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