Press Release
October 22, 2014

MIRIAM RENEWS CALL TO SCRAP VFA

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, chair of the Senate foreign relations committee and the Legislative Oversight Committee on the VFA (LOVFA), renewed her call to scrap the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), on the ground, among others, of "gross disparity" in the provisions on jurisdiction and custody.

"The failure to produce the body of Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton before the Olongapo city prosecutor is already an indication that the U.S. is not in good faith, a reflection of the lopsided attitude of the VFA," she said.

Pemberton has been charged with murder before the Olongapo city prosecutor for the alleged killing of Jennifer Laude, a Filipino transgender woman.

Santiago, a former RTC judge, said that at preliminary investigation, usually the defendant appears personally with his lawyer and submits a counter-affidavit refuting charges. But Pemberton failed to do so last Tuesday (October 21).

Instead, Pemberton's lawyers told the prosecutor that they will avail of the 10-day period for filing a counter-affidavit.

Santiago said that if Pemberton fails to submit his counter-affidavit within the 10-day period, the prosecutor is empowered to resolve the complaint based on the evidence presented by the complainant.

"If the prosecutor resolves to file a complaint for murder in court, warrant of arrest will issue against Pemberton. In the ordinary course of events, he will be arrested and detained in city jail, or, in the language of the VFA, 'in facilities agreed on by appropriate Philippine and US authorities,'" the senator said.

VFA's lopsided provisions

Santiago read a paper at the start of the public hearing by the Senate foreign relations committee on the alleged killing of Laude by US Marine Pemberton.

The senator said that the Senate hearing was in aid of legislation. One of the issues waswhether the RP-US VFA, ratified by the Senate in 1999, has lost its raison d'etre, or reason for existing.

"The VFA is 15 years old, and has given our country much grief," Santiago said.

Santiago, who was elected judge of the International Criminal Court but waived her post due to lung cancer, said: "The Philippines has primary jurisdiction over the military involved, because the murder took place in Philippine territory, and constitutes a crime under the Philippine Penal Code."

According to the senator, jurisdiction is the government's general power to exercise authority over all persons within its territory. Custody is a component of jurisdiction, and means the care and control of a person involving his or her security.

"If the Philippines has primary jurisdiction, then it follows that the Philippine should have custody. But this logic is spurned by the VFA. When the U.S. requests custody, the Philippines is required to comply immediately. But when the Philippines considers it to be an extraordinary case and requests custody, the U.S. is merely required to give full account. This gross inequity is the elephant in the room," Santiago said.

Recent news reports revealed that Pemberton is now detained at the Joint US Military Assistance Group compound in Camp Aguinaldo.

VFA not helpful against China

The senator said: "The VFA is a historic document of inequity between a former colonizer and its former colony, which some global political analysts describe as a 'failing state.' Never in the annals of modern political history has a country been so manipulated to serve the interest of another, and taught to be so ironically grateful for such an inequitable relationship."

Santiago belied the hopes of some Filipinos that the U.S. will come to the aid of the Philippines should there be a firefight with China, giving three reasons:

First, then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2013 said that the U.S. would be neutral. When President Obama visited Japan this year, he categorically declared that the U.S. will defend the Japanese claim over the Senkaku islands. By contrast, the U.S. said it "will not have a position in regard to the disputed territories in the South China Sea."

Second, the U.S. is allegedly impecunious, and has incurred a national debt of $1.27 trillion to China.

Third, President Obama's "pivot to Asia" has been neglected because of certain critical political developments in the Middle East and the rest of Europe.

The senator said that because America is an unreliable ally, instead of military confrontation, our government should turn to economic diplomacy with China.

A constitutional law expert, she said that Filipino corporations are allowed to join foreign partners for up to 50-year agreements to explore, develop, and use our natural resources, especially oil, gas, and deep-sea minerals below the West Philippine Sea.

No "hate crime" in PH

Santiago also addressed the issue raised in the media that the crime was an offense against Laude's transgender identity or a "hate crime."

"There is no such offense as a 'hate crime' under Philippine law. Thus, even assuming that the death of Laude was by virtue of her sexual identity, the crime shall be prosecuted as murder, regardless of the gender dimension," Santiago explained.

The senator further said that currently there is no Philippine law that addresses discrimination, aggression, or any form of violence or unfair treatment towards lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT).

Santiago, an international law expert, also said that international lawmerely provides for a policy of the elimination of discrimination and violence against the LGBT, through the Yogyakarta Principles, a set of principles of International Human Rights Law which seeks to address patterns of abuse relating to sexual orientation and gender identity.

"The Yogyakarta Principles are still subject to the implementation of individual governments. The Philippines has yet to address this matter through legislation," Santiago said.

Santiago said the hearing will help the Senate craft legislation penalizing "hate crimes" against LGBTs in the Philippines, to address the gap in the law.

News Latest News Feed