RP issues subpoenas for U.S. troops

RP issues subpoenas for U.S. troops

THE PHILIPPINES: Philippine prosecutors issued subpoenas on Tuesday to question six U.S. soldiers accused of gang-raping a Filipino woman in a van after military exercises earlier this month.

Jovencito Zuno, the chief state prosecutor, said the suspects had 10 days to respond with counteraffidavits and that he hoped an initial investigation would be completed in 60 days.

The six soldiers, who have not been charged with any offense, remain in U.S. custody in the Philippines after their colleagues aboard the USS Essex left when the military exercises ended.

Manila is a major ally to Washington in the region and both sides say the alleged attack on a 22-year-old woman in the Subic Bay area on Nov. 1 will do nothing to hurt relations.

Still, leftist and women's groups have called for a visiting forces agreement between the two countries to be scrapped and the six U.S. soldiers to be brought under Philippine jurisdiction.

Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Manila pledged cooperation in the investigation and said the suspects would be made available for questioning but have given no indication whether the soldiers could be turned over to Philippine authorities. -- Reuters