Sell out season

EDITORIAL

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03/20/2009

The series of events that had transpired, leading to the sudden turnaround of Suzette Nicolas, earlier portrayed as the rape victim from the case against convict US Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, raised the possibility of an exchange deal between a politically bankrupt Gloria Arroyo and the just warming up presidency of Barack Obama.

Both, Gloria whose performance is extremely reviled and Obama who is seeking his presidential footing, would have nothing to lose and everything to gain from a simple swap of individuals that may contribute to enhancing their individual political fortunes.

While Smith is the only one of several who had figured in a brush with countries in which the hundreds of thousands of American soldiers are stationed throughout the world, his fate and how the US government dealt its cards to influence it is likely standard policy since Smith’s case is not the first to happen in the long age that America had taken its role as a global policeman.

Recently, Malacañang seems to be awash with confidence that it can repatriate key personalities who have long been residing in the United States to evade local authorities.

Malacañang even flaunted the possibility of a long-forgotten character in the assassination of former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. in 1983, former Aviation Security Group official Felipe Valero, as a subject of extradition.

Also lately, the Arroyo administration suddenly was anticipating the repatriation of key witnesses in the twin murder of publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito that Gloria had long been frustrated in pinning on her political rivals.

With the recent chain of events, it seems that the key was the supposed surprise phone call of Obama to Gloria Saturday last week that took “quite long,” according to Press Secretary Cerge Remonde.

It would be difficult to believe that it would take Gloria all of more than 30 minutes to discuss climate change and interfaith dialog with Obama that resulted a few days after with the sudden recantation announcement of Nicolas.

The Smith rape case, however, is not only about Nicolas and her lost dignity which has turned out to be a wild one night stand fling based on her recantation, but a bigger issue on the country’s impugned sovereignty during the rape case trial that was considered a test case for the whole Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), so others say.

The Smith case, it seems, was merely utilized by Gloria as a dealing card with the US on the repatriation of individuals it had long sought to use as political cannon balls.

During the entire judicial process, the United States was able to exercise jurisdiction over the custody of Smith except for a few days that Smith spent in a local jail after the court read his conviction.

The Smith case proved that the VFA was all about the US government providing a protective shield on the interest of American soldiers stationed in the country and nothing else.

Proof of this is the presence of a separate document that governs the supposedly mutual rights of Filipino soldiers assigned in United States territory.

Another clear indication that the VFA is far from being a reciprocal deal was the clear refusal of US authorities to abide by a Supreme Court decision to hand over to local authorities the custody of Smith.

All throughout the custody battle, Gloria who is in a flux in seeking attention from the US leadership had taken the side of the US for a status quo on Smith, which was based on a mere agreement between Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and US Ambassador Kristie Kenney that was, however, ruled by the high court as null and void.

The about face of Nicolas on the rape case may have a bearing on the conviction of Smith which is currently on appeal but what will stay unresolved is the deeper question about the possible US government’s breach of the VFA jurisdiction provision.

With a President who is so attached to US whims, the integrity of provisions in the agreement with regard to the country’s interest has become lost.

It is for this reason that the nation’s interest dictates the abrogation of the agreement.

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