The US government has been given more time to decide on the transferring of the custody of four US marines who have been charged with raping a Filipino woman, a senior official said Friday.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo told reporters in an ambush interview after attending a ceremony that gaining physical custody's not done in a time frame of one day or one week. The four US servicemen, who were accused of raping a 22-year-old Filipino woman in Subic Bay on Nov. 1 last year, remain under custody in the US embassy.

Despite the Philippine government's request, the US government has yet officially responded to it, leading to the delay of the arrest and trial.

"Let's give them time. Let the diplomatic channels take its course", Romulo said.

The accused American soldiers were among the 4,000 US troops who took part in the Philippine-US military exercise in Central Luzon in November.

This is the first reported rape incident since the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) was signed in 1998 and entered into force in 1999 after the Philippine Senate ratified the agreement as a treaty.

Under the VFA with the Philippines, the US will retain custody of its service members accused of wrongdoing unless the Philippine government requests otherwise.

Meanwhile, the foreign secretary said that the relations between United States and the Philippines continue to be firm, stable, and friendly. It's not a perfect world. Just like in a family, said Romulo. There are always occurrences that should not break up the family.

Earlier Friday, the executive director of the Visiting Forces Agreement Commission and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Zosimo Paredes said that he wants to see where the suspects in the Subic rape case are being held by the US Embassy.

"What I want to see now is the place where they are actually being held in custody... They are not actually as free as you and I. They should at least be restricted to quarters in military parlance," Paredes said.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez on Wednesday threatened to raise the custody issue before the International Court of Justice should the US government will still refuse to hand over the accused Marines to the Philippine government by the deadline on Jan. 11.

Source: Xinhua