U.S. troops given time in rape case

U.S. troops given time in rape case

Roli Ng, Reuters/Olongapo City, Philippines

Philippine prosecutors give lawyers for six U.S. Marines until
Nov. 29 to answer a rape complaint filed by a Filipino woman, a
case testing the strength of relations with the United States.

Prosecutors are investigating the allegations that the
soldiers, who had participated in two weeks of joint military
exercises, gang-raped a 22-year-old woman in a van on Nov. 1 at
the former American navy base at Subic Bay northwest of Manila.

The Philippines, battling Muslim and communist insurgencies,
is a former U.S. colony and a major ally to Washington in the
region. While both sides say the alleged rape will do nothing to
hurt close ties, the case has churned up anti-U.S. sentiment.

Hundreds of members of a leftist women's group and a smaller
number of pro-American demonstrators held separate rallies
outside Olongapo City hall of justice, where prosecutors received
copies of the complaint and affidavits from several witnesses.

"We would give them up to Nov. 29 to file counter-affidavits
on the rape complaint," Prudencio Jalandoni, head of the city
prosecutor's office, said on Wednesday. He added that his team
was rushing to resolve the case within a prescribed 60-day
deadline.

The woman who filed the complaint did not attend the
preliminary hearing. Her five lawyers, all women, submitted a
fresh affidavit from a witness who gave a more detailed account
of what she saw on the night of the alleged crime.

The soldiers, who have not been charged and are being held
under the custody of the U.S. embassy, did not appear.

An embassy spokesman, Matthew Lussenhop, said the six Marines
had filed sworn statements at the prosecutor's office on
Wednesday. But their lawyers did not submit the affidavits due to
the additional testimony given by the woman's lawyers.

"The physical presence of the Marines today was not required
by the office of the city prosecutor," Lussenhop told reporters.
He said the embassy had yet to respond to a request from the
Philippine foreign affairs department to take custody of the six
soldiers.

In a statement read out by Lussenhop, the U.S. embassy said it
would cooperate closely with Philippine authorities "to ensure
the case is handled fairly and that justice is done".

Outside the hall of justice, protesters waved banners and
placards demanding an end to a treaty -- the Visiting Forces
Agreement -- that allows U.S. soldiers to train, advise and
conduct exercises with Philippine troops.

"We're here to keep a tight watch on the legal proceedings,"
said Lotlot Requiso, a spokeswoman for Kaisa (Oneness), a women's
rights group. "We believe that justice would not be served well
if we were not here monitoring the hearing."

Relations soured in the early 1990s when Philippine senators
terminated a treaty allowing U.S. forces to keep huge naval and
air bases in the country, and Washington cut military aid to the
poor Southeast Asian state.

The links were repaired when the Philippine Senate ratified
the Visiting Forces Agreement in 1999.

"This is a test case for our two countries' relations," said
Raymond Viray, an assistant prosecutor. "This is the first time
we are investigating U.S. soldiers under the Visiting Forces
Agreement treaty."