Six US Marines accused of raping a 22-year-old Filipino at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone on Nov 1

US & Philippine authorities in Manila are confirming television and newspaper reports that six US Marines are being held by the US Embassy pending the filing of formal charges against them for allegedly gang-raping a young Filipino female inside a rented van in Subic Bay, the site of a former US naval base converted in 1992 into a freeport economic zone. A complaint for rape was lodged against them by the Olongapo City Prosecutors Office on Thursday afternoon.

US Charge d’affaires Paul Jones said all six suspects were in the custody of the US Embassy, following the protocol established by the Visiting Forces Agreement between the United States and the Philippines. Matthew Lussenhop, Embassy spokesman indicated that the six US marines would be presented in Court following the filing of formal charges.

It’s a human tragedy, and if the charges are true, who would not uprise in anger and rage? And like other incidents of rape and sexual abuse involving US military personnels in places like the Philippines, Korea, Okinawa, and Japan, there can be powerful political consequences, if not handled justly and appropriately.

“The victim had bruises on her left and right forearms, some parts of her torso and also on her right eye.” The bruises may have come from the victim’s struggle to escape her attackers.

The six Americans were charged with rape at the Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office Thursday afternoon. Prosecutors Ramon Viray and Joel Samonte were handling the charges. The complaint identified the suspects as Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Dominic Duplantis, Corey Barris and Chad Carpenter.

The Philippine Left has naturally pounced upon this incident to call for a complete scrapping of the Visiting Forces Agreement and an “End to US Military presence” in the Archipelago.

The thing comes at a difficult time for anti-terrorism advocates in the Philippines, (like me), who believe that there can be no effective campaign to secure the Archipelago from the growing threat of the global terror network, without full and faithful cooperation among all our allies and neighbors in all aspects of the war: political and military cooperation, intelligence sharing, logistics, and a unified stance about how to proceed with mobilizing the publics in every country for the common effort.

The latter is perhaps the most underestimated thing that must be done. And certainly in the Philippines the anti-American Left has succeeded in shaping the debate over cooperation with allies in the context of nationalist resentments inherent to our century-long love-hate relationship with America.

Now what you can say? Is this place were we live are safe for us?