Below is a press release from Malacanang:
Smith’s transfer to avert erosion of RP’s strategic relations with U.S. — PGMA
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today convicted rapist Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith was transferred to the custody of the US embassy to avert the further erosion of the countrys strategic relations with the US over the non-compliance by the Philippine government of its treaty obligation under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
Appealing for the Filipino peoples understanding of the action taken by the government on the matter, the President said Smiths transfer to the custody of US authorities “will not affect the substantive issues at bar, nor impede justice and the rule of law.”
Convicted by the Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) for raping a 22-year-old Filipino woman and sentenced to life imprisonment, Smith has appealed his conviction.
The Chief Executive also said the Executive Branch is prepared to meet all legal challenges to the government action on the Smith case, and “we are confident that its legitimacy and wisdom will be upheld.”
“This difficult decision was made and taken with only the best interest of the Philippines in mind. I therefore ask all Filipinos to stand by it and to stand behind our alliance with the United States to fight terror and poverty,” the President added.
Earlier, Solicitor General Antonio Nachura explained that Smiths transfer to US custody was not a “constitutional violation,” but rather a “constitutional compliance.”
He said the custody issue is clearly defined in the VFA, which, in turn, is embedded in the 1987 Constitution. Article ll, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution states that the government “adopts the generally accepted principle of international law as part of the law of the land and adherence to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation and amity with all nations.”
Nachura pointed out that the government cannot just ignore its treaty obligations such as the VFA which are guaranteed by the Constitution.
In a statement, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said today that the reforms the government had initiated can no longer be stopped — not by any political and media grandstanding “that the people have already discounted and learned to ignore.”
“This administration is focused on the task of completing our economic and political platforms and translating them into benefits that would be fully enjoyed by the people in terms of more jobs, services and law and order,” he said.
