US bars warships from leaving Phl

MANILA, Philippines - US Pacific Command chief Adm. Samuel Locklear has ordered the grounding of US military vessels to keep them from leaving the Philippines until the investigation on the killing of a Filipino transgender allegedly by a US Marine is completed.

Eduardo Oban, executive director of the Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFACom), told reporters at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday that Philippine authorities are looking at all possible angles in the killing of 26-year-old Jeffrey Laude.

“There’s no definitive statement yet as to the identity of the suspect,” Oban said.

Thousands of US troops are in the Philippines for PHIBLEX 15, a multinational exercise. The USS Peleliu is on port call in Subic Bay.

The DFA and the VFACom, he said, are awaiting the results of the police investigation.

“Once the results are out, then we’ll communicate the contents to the proper US authorities and we’ll follow the usual investigative and judicial proceedings as contained in the VFA. We assure everyone that justice will be served,” Oban said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippine National Police (PNP) is investigating the killing of the Filipino transgender in Olongapo but did not categorically say that the suspect is a US serviceman.

“I think they’re working along that line,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters.

A Marine Corps Times report said a US Marine is in custody Sunday following the apparent killing of a transgender in the Philippines.

The Marine, whose identity has not been released, is being held on board the amphibious assault ship Peleliu while agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service piece together what happened Saturday night at the Celzone Lodge in Olongapo City, according to an internal Navy memo obtained by Marine Corps Times.

The Marine is assigned to 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Justice for victim

A lawmaker from the Gabriela party-list group yesterday asked the government to ensure justice for the murder victim.

Rep. Emmerenciana de Jesus asked the Aquino government to “immediately intervene and swiftly mobilize” the authorities to make sure there will be a proper and thorough investigation into the case.

“Gabriela maintains that US military basing in communities abetted by EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement) worsens prostitution, trafficking, drugs and spread of diseases, and Aquino needs to listen to demands to scrap the agreement,” she said.

She cited the legal injustices that keep cropping up from the EDCA and the VFA, the two agreements that she said the US and the Philippines “railroaded despite their unconstitutionality.”

Shadow of doubt

Meanwhile, the killing incident casts a shadow on the start of annual talks between Filipino and American security officials.

The Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) will begin formal talks today.

The MDB and the SEB will allow military officials of the two countries to discuss key security issues.

The killing incident is the latest controversy confronting the relationship between the US and the Philippines, its former colony and oldest Asian ally. It is also expected to trigger fresh calls to abolish the VFA, which allows American troops to hold drills in the country.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), however, said the killing of the transgender should not be linked to the security ties between Manila and Washington.

“Any criminal activity should not be associated with the cooperation between our countries,” AFP public affairs chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said in an interview yesterday.

“We want to improve our knowledge and strengthen our capabilities when it comes to projecting our sovereignty, performing our mandate and protecting the people,” he added.

Cabunoc said criticisms against the Philippines’ partnership with the US are expected.

“It is normal to see people who are linking the incident to our defense cooperation,” he said.

Calls to abrogate the VFA intensified in 2006 following the conviction of American serviceman Daniel Smith, who was accused of raping a Filipina in Subic.

Smith, a Marine Lance Corporal, was found guilty by the Makati Regional Trial Court but was subsequently cleared by the Court of Appeals after the victim had recanted her statements. – With Alexis Romero, Paolo Romero