Philippine gov't asks public not to speculate on outcome of rape case against US marines

Philippine presidential palace Tuesday appealed to the public not to speculate on the possible outcome of the criminal case filed against six US marines accused of raping a 22-year-old Filipino woman at the Subic Bay early this month.

On the same day, a prosecutor at Olongapo City in Subic Bay sent a subpoena to the six accused US marines, asking them to appear in the prosecutor's office on Nov. 23 and 29.

"We must refrain from speculating on the outcome of the case and let impartial justice take its course," presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

He said the US government is willing to cooperate with local authorities and the Philippine government is determined to ensure that justice be done in accordance with the Philippine laws.

Bunye was reacting to speculations that the rape case filed in Olongapo City is doomed to be dismissed and that the government is pressuring the alleged victim to settle the case privately.

A prosecutor's office Tuesday sent a subpoena to the six accused as the first step of a long process of investigation into the rape case.

The unidentified woman said she was raped in a van after meeting the US marines in a karaoke bar in Subic Bay on Nov. 1. The driver of the van has also told authorities that he witnessed the rape.

The US embassy in Manila has assured the Philippine government that the six accused, who are now in the custody of the embassy, will be available anytime upon the request of the Philippine authorities.

The government has promised that there would be no whitewash in the investigation and it will insist on its sovereign prerogative over the case.

It also stressed that the case is an isolated one which will not affect the strong ties between the United States and the Philippines.

Meanwhile, an official of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which has jurisdiction over Olongapo City, said on Tuesday that the driver of the van where the 22-year-old woman was allegedly raped is not retracting his testimony against the US marines.

Jose Calimlim, SBMA's vice-president for operations, told local radio DZMM that besides the driver named Timoteo Soriano, authorities also have a group of excursionists as witnesses.

He also said only five of the accused US Marines are in the custody of the US Embassy in Manila, as only five of the accused were identified by Soriano and were ordered to disembark USS Essex when they were about to leave Subic last Thursday.

Source: Xinhua