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Group says SolGen ‘lawyering’ for Smith


MANILA, Philippines – A militant group on Thursday accused the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) of “lawyering" for Lance Corporal Daniel Smith when it argued before the Supreme Court that the US may retain custody over the convicted rapist. Bayan secretary general Reynato Reyes said that it was obvious that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s administration lacks interest in acquiring custody of Smith because its government lawyers are becoming "a virtual annex of the US Embassy." "[Solicitor General] Agnes Devanadera is obviously lawyering for Smith and the US State department. What we’re seeing here is the Arroyo government totally abandoning national sovereignty in the name of special relations with the US," Reyes said in a statement. For several times, GMANews.TV tried, but failed, to contact Devanadera on her two mobile phones. The Office of the Solicitor General said Devanadera is in the US. Reyes’ accusation came after the OSG filed before the Supreme Court a motion for clarification stating that the detention of Smith at the US Embassy is in accordance with the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). The High Court on February 11 ruled that the agreement that allowed for Smith’s detention at the embassy was violative of the VFA, which it upheld as constitutional. The court then ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs and the US Embassy to immediately negotiate Smith’s custody, which the Tribunal said should be under Philippine authorities. In its nine-page motion for clarification submitted to the SC on Wednesday, the OSG cited a provision in the VFA stating that the US may retain custody any of its convicted personnel until such time that the conviction has become final and executory. "The custody over US personnel shall reside with US authorities, if they so request, from the commission of the offense, during the trial and even on appeal until the judgment of conviction is final an executory," reads Paragraph 6, article V of the controversial VFA. Smith was convicted by the Makati RTC on December 2006. He is presently appealing his conviction before Court of Appeals. Reyes said that the OSG’s appeal indicated Malacañang may be in favor of Smith’s acquittal by the CA. "The Palace is secretly hoping for an acquittal because it will render the custody issue moot. It would then be business as usual under the VFA." Bayan warned that such a situation would be met with outrage, adding that the legality of the VFA remains in question even as the High Court upheld its constitutionality. In this light, Bayan, along with other parties, asked the SC on Thursday to reverse its February 11 ruling. In a joint motion for reconsideration, Bayan said the VFA may still be ruled unconstitutional given the existence of a complimentary agreement called VFA 2 which gives Filipino troops visiting the US less rights and privileges than their American counterparts visiting the Philippines. "The VFA is unconstitutional and void because an integral part of it, the so-called VFA 2, was not included in the Senate deliberations and resolution of concurrence. It is most likely that the Philippine Senate would not have concurred in the VFA had it known about the VFA-2," the petitioners said. The petitioners include Evalyn Ursua, lawyer of Smith’s rape victim, Nicole; Harry Roque Jr. representing former Senate President Jovito Salonga; and militant lawyer Neri Colmenares representing Bayan and Gabriela. - GMANews.TV
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