'Gov't won't waive right over US gobs'

The government is unlikely to waive jurisdiction over the case of a taxi driver mauled by three US servicemen in Cebu City last week, a top official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

The official, who requested anonymity, said the DFA might tell the United States that the case is of "particular importance to the government politically."

Under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the government has 20 days or until April 4 to waive jurisdiction over the case because the offense involved is not "extraordinary" or a heinous crime like rape, a DFA source said.

"We can always tell US authorities to delay their request for jurisdiction of this case," the official said.

In a diplomatic note, the US asked the government to waive jurisdiction over the case of US Navy Petty Officers Michael Keyes, Johnny Earl Lowerey Jr., and Shannon Towers.

The US said the three should be placed under its jurisdiction so they could face court martial.

Cabby Marcelo Batestil had accused the Americans of estafa, serious physical injuries and malicious mischief. In court, the three pleaded not guilty and accused Batestil in turn of extortion and of provoking them to attack him.

US Embassy Press Attaché Tom Skipper said the US Navy remains open to an amicable settlement with Batestil, and that everything would depend on the cabby's decision.

However, if Batestil rejects the settlement and decides to pursue the case, the three servicemen would be present at trial next month, he added.

Keyes, Lowerey, and Towers left with their ship, the USS Blue Ridge, last Wednesday after Judge Rosabella Tormis of the Cebu City Municipal Trial Court granted the US request for their custody.

The US had formally asked the court for custody of the accused in accordance with the VFA.

The VFA allows the court to grant the US custody of servicemen accused of crimes in the country, except in cases that are classified as "extraordinary."

In an "extraordinary" case, the government must ask the US that the accused servicemen remain in the country.

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr. said US authorities had not made things difficult for the government in the three servicemen's case.

"They readily made the three available whenever their presence was required," he said. "Contrary to the expectations of those who opposed the VFA, the Americans went through the process as provided for under the agreement."

US officials never questioned Philippine jurisdiction over the three servicemen, he added.

The VFA Commission, on the other hand, ensured that the VFA's provisions will be strictly applied in the case of the three Americans.

Navy Capt. David Siemba, commander of the USS Blue Ridge and the three accused's superior officer, apologized to Batestil when he visited the taxi driver at Miller Hospital in Cebu City recently.

The case arose from a misunderstanding between Batestil and the Americans who hired Batestil's taxi for their bar-hopping.