18 law groups insist on RP custody of Smith

Eighteen law groups under the umbrella organization Alternative Law Groups (ALG) asked the Arroyo administration yesterday to refuse the US government’s demand to take custody of convicted rapist US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith.

In a statement, ALG convenor lawyer Marlon Manuel said acceding to the request of the US government to place Smith under its custody would deprive the Philippines of its own criminal jurisdiction.

"It is a clear violation of the Constitution. The Philippine government is duty-bound to protect and defend the constitutional right of the victim and the nation’s sovereignty and should therefore act in accordance with this constitutional mandate. Allowing Smith to remain in US custody, whether here or abroad, is a culpable violation of the Constitution," Manuel said.

He said that if the Philippine government would not assert its jurisdiction over Smith, it would allow a mere government to "usurp" a prerogative, which constitutionally belongs to Congress.

He said it is Congress that is vested with the exclusive power of allocating jurisdiction among different courts.

"The Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is an agreement of gross inequality and utter disregard of the Philippines’ exclusive right to exercise its supreme political authority over persons found guilty of committing capital offense.

The government could not just redefine, remove or transfer the existing criminal jurisdiction of its courts to the US government through a mere treaty like the VFA as this power is exclusively delegated to the Philippine Congress mandated under Article 8, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution," Manuel said.

Article 8, Section 2 of the Constitution provides that "Congress shall have the power to define, prescribe and apportion the jurisdiction of various courts."

This means, Manuel said, that "only Congress, that is the House of Representatives and the Senate, has the power to either diminish or remove altogether the jurisdiction of the Philippine courts." — Jose Rodel Clapano