No special day of hearts for GIs in Sulu

JOLO, Sulu — With a warning from United States President George W. Bush not to engage in any sexual activity while in the Philippines, American troops deployed here plan to spend Valentine’s Day administering humanitarian services.

"The soldiers are just much too busy and serious for this business," said Capt. Leo Liebreich, public affairs officer for the Joint Special Operation Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) Sulu mission, referring to the well-known popularity of Valentine’s Day among Filipinos. "We have a mission to do."

The presidential warning came in the wake of rape charges filed by a 22-year-old Filipino woman who claimed she was attacked by a US marine last Nov. 1 at the Subic Freeport in Zambales inside a moving van while three colleagues cheered him on. The serviceman claimed he only had consensual sex with the woman.

Liebreich said Valentine’s Day was "just another day" for the soldiers, though some had already sent Valentine’s messages and gifts to their loved ones back home.

"In my case I will celebrate it by sending flowers to my loved one and I think (it is) the same with other servicemen and officers who are here," Liebreich said.

He said the US contingent is excited about their mission in Sulu, which he said is totally different from military exercises they are conducting because it focuses on humanitarian projects such as medical missions and engineering work.

Earlier, local officials expressed concern over the migration of sex workers to this town in anticipation of the US troops arriving here for joint military exercises.

The sex workers, mostly from out of town, are encamped just outside the headquarters of the 104th Army brigade.

Acting Jolo Mayor Al-Khamer Butch Izquierrdo said they are apprehensive about being unable to monitor the sex workers, whose presence was described as odd for an island province said to be sensitive to moral propriety.

About 90 sex workers had been monitored in the town.

Izquierrdo said the presence of the sex workers might give a wrong impression of women in Sulu and he warned that officials were ready to take legal action against those caught violating local laws.