“There is no longer any legal impediment to the permanent basing of US troops in the Philippines further deepening the country’s involvement in the US war against terror and making (the) peace process almost impossible to achieve,” read an NUPL statement issued on Feb. 12.

“The VFA violates our sovereignty not only because it allows the permanent basing of US troops in the Philippines despite constitutional prohibition but also because it takes out from Philippine jurisdiction US soldiers who may have committed crimes against the people,” the NUPL statement further read. “This is clearly shown by the fact that the Philippine government has to negotiate for the custody of a convicted criminal, who under our laws should have been detained in a Philippine prison just like any Filipino sentenced to a prison term.”

Art. V, Par. 10 of the VFA provides that:

The confinement or detention by Philippine authorities of United States personnel shall be carried out in facilities agreed on by appropriate Philippine and United States authorities. United States personnel serving sentences in the Philippines shall have the right to visits and material assistance.

The Feb. 11 Supreme Court ruling orders the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to begin negotiations with the US government for Smith’s transfer to a “mutually acceptable” facility.

“We cannot understand why a clear-cut exercise of sovereignty, in this case custody over a convicted foreign felon, should be subject to negotiations,” said Ocampo and Casiño in a joint statement on Feb. 13. “What the Philippine government should do is simply impose its own laws over a foreigner who violated those laws. It should not negotiate but order the US Embassy to turn over Smith to the proper local authority.”

“The Court, in effect, laid down the correct principle in so far as Philippine custody over a convicted foreigner is concerned but undermined its own ruling by subjecting the same to negotiations between the US and its puppet state in the Philippines,” Ocampo and Casiño added.

The two congressmen demanded Smith’s immediate transfer to the NBP.

The NUPL called for the immediate termination of the VFA and the withdrawal of all US troops from the Philippines.(Bulatlat.com)

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