EDITORIAL - Balancing act

The country has two overriding concerns in the custody battle over an American Marine convicted of raping a Filipina. One is to see that justice is done. The other is to honor its international commitments. Failure to do both at the same time betrays the weakness of a democratic state and its leadership.

Lance Corporal Daniel Smith will be spending Christmas at the Makati City Jail after being convicted of raping a Filipina in Subic. His conviction, for which he was sentenced to life in prison, automatically goes to a higher court for an appeal. Under normal judicial procedures, he should be at the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa, which is where everyone convicted by a trial court of major offenses – with a sentence of over three years – is supposed to be incarcerated.

Complicating the case, however, is the Visiting Forces Agreement, which governs the treatment of both US troops on official duty in the Philippines and Filipino troops on official mission in the United States. Philippine and American diplomatic officials have formally agreed that under the VFA, the US must retain custody of Smith until all judicial proceedings in the case have been completed. The Makati Regional Trial Court, on the other hand, thinks US custody ends upon conviction and does not cover the period of appeal. The custody battle has reached the Court of Appeals and may go to the Supreme Court.

The administration must carry out a delicate balancing act here, respecting the independence of the judiciary while at the same time reassuring the international community that the Philippines can honor its global commitments. Other governments are watching this case closely to see if agreements entered into by Manila are more binding than the business contracts that are routinely overturned and are worth less than toilet paper in this country.

The Philippines has already taken a beating from the arbitrary postponement of two Asian summits in Cebu. Whether we like it or not, the way we comply with the VFA will be used as a gauge by other governments in dealing with the Philippines.

That custody provision in the VFA must be clarified, and quickly. If the VFA is to be renegotiated at all, the new terms cannot apply retroactively to Smith’s case. The administration must explain to the US – and the world – that the Philippines can be relied upon to honor its international commitments, but without compromising the rule of law.