Anti-rape/anti-VFA Activists Urge CA not to Yield to Pressure on Smith

Press Release
May 27, 2008
Reference: Yuen Abana - 09162811934
Lotlot Requizo – 0917 860 6650
Pangging Santos - 09156484638


Anti-rape/anti-VFA Activists Urge CA not to Yield to Pressure on Smith

“Enough of the Philippine government’s licking US masters’ boots! Make history by making an independent stand!”

These came from members of Task Force Subic Rape (TFSR) who went back to the streets this morning and trooped to the Court of Appeals to ask the justices not to yield to pressure to acquit L/Cpl Daniel John Smith. A lower court found Smith guilty of raping a 21 year-old Filipina in 2005.

“We got information that a justice is preparing the decision to reverse Judge Pozon’s verdict. We are not entirely surprised because we saw how the US exerted pressure on the GMA government just to have Smith turned over to them after the guilty verdict. We also saw how compliant the GMA government has been, even to the point of stealing Smith from a Philippine jail in the dead of the night.” Yuen Abana of Partido ng Manggagawa explained.

“But we are still urging the justices”, added Pangging Santos of Sarilaya. “Some may have the courage to convict a member of the strongest armed forces in the world as evidence is strong.”
The rally participants decried the Philippine government’s long history of subservience. In Subic and Clark, Filipinos filed some 3,211 different cases against American soldiers from 1980 to 1987 alone but no case ever prospered in court. More than 48 Filipinos have been murdered from 1947 to 1980 alone but local politicians were first to look for an out-of-court-settlement or dissuade victims from pursuing the cases.

“Japan has its first conviction of a US soldier in 1948 and it has convicted some other US soldiers for the same crime. Korea has convicted 84 US soldiers for rape. But the Philippine government, still very afraid of hurting US-Philippines relations, did its best to keep the latest case of a Filipina raped in Japan hushed and is working to clear Smith of that rape in Subic.” Lotlot Requizo of KAISA KA lamented.

Task Force Subic Rape handed to court personnel a letter of appeal for the CA justices before they left.