Demotion, fines for 3 US sailors

United States military authorities have court marshaled and slapped serious penalties on the three US navy serviceman who beat up and allegedly defrauded a Filipino taxi driver in Cebu City last month, according to a foreign affairs official.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for American Affairs Clemencio Montesa said Petty Officers Michael Keyes, Johnny Earl Lowery Jr. and Shannon Towers were demoted, fined, restricted and reprimanded under Article 15 of the US Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The code provides for a US commanding officer - in this case US Seventh Fleet Commander David Ziemba - to mete non-judicial punishment to erring military personnel.

Montesa, also the executive director of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) Commission, refused to elaborate on the punishments like how many ranks lower were the sailors demoted or how much of their salaries were cut since US military laws do not allow such disclosures.

But Montesa said these were substantial and "severe" enough since the "reduction of grade" or rank could affect the sailors' career advancement and future promotions.

In the forfeiture of their monthly pay, Montesa said the servicemen were "hit where it hurts most - their pockets" because even their future pension might be affected when their service performance is assessed upon retirement.

With regard to the restriction of movement, Montesa stressed this was not just physical but "moral" since they would not be allowed to roam around and might be confined to ships or the military base.

The reprimand is the most severe form of censure under military laws and more serious than admonition, Montesa said.

The penalties imposed on the three, according to Montesa, were the Americans' way of "emphasizing commitment" to the VFA and that "any offense committed by their people will not go unpunished."

"Under the VFA, the jurisdiction of both governments as regards specific cases is clear. It was demonstrated in Cebu that both governments have understood what kind of jurisdiction they could assume or turn over," Montesa said.

The Philippine government waived the jurisdiction of the cases of less physical injuries and estafa against the three sailors so US military authorities could prosecute them.

This came after the sailors' victim, Marcelo Batestil, accepted their public apology and withdrew the charges against them. The US Navy offered Batestil a P200,000 settlement but he rejected it and donated the money to a church in Cebu City.

If the sailors had been tried by a Philippine court, they could have faced imprisonment from a month to six months and a P500 fine for less serious physical injury, and imprisonment for six months to six years for estafa.

The malicious mischief charge was dismissed by Cebu Judge Rosabella Tormis of Municipal Trial Court Branch 4 for lack of evidence.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr. had earlier said the waiver of jurisdiction would pave the way for the immediate sanctioning of the three sailors.

"That is for the interest of everybody...We have to make sure justice is served especially to the victim," Montesa said.

Batestil had demanded that the sailors return to the country for court hearings as a condition for his forgiveness. But he also sought punishment for them under US laws.

"We're happy about the outcome. We have a satisfactory implementation of the VFA," Montesa said.

Siazon said the fact that the three sailors appeared in court and showed full respect for the country's justice system demonstrated that the VFA worked. The punishment imposed on the three will serve as a precedent in future cases, he said.

The case was widely seen as a litmus test of the VFA, outlining the legal jurisdiction of US troops in the country.

US Ambassador Thomas Hubbard said the three sailors had no justifiable reason for their behavior even if Batestil had provoked them over a taxi fare dispute last March 12.

Keyes and Lowery reportedly beat up Batestil when he insisted on collecting a P900 fare which the sailors wanted reduced to P300. Towers tried to stop them from beating up the driver too much.

They pleaded not guilty to the charges. But, just the same, they publicly apologized to Batestil before the judge.