Govt urged to assert jurisdiction over Olongapo transgender slay suspect

The Philippine government must assert jurisdiction over the foreign suspect in Saturday night's killing of a transgender woman in Olongapo City to prevent possible cover-ups in the investigation, a national defense expert said Monday.

UP professor Roland Simbulan said in an interview on GMA News TV's “News To Go” that authorities should exert all efforts to ensure the suspect, believed to be an American soldier, would not be able to leave the country.

“Dapat gawin ng pamahalaan lahat ng paraan para manatili sa loob ng Philippine territory ‘yung nagkasala—kung US serviceman nga siya—para masiguro na ang mga korte natin ang huhusga at magpo-proseso ng hustisya para sa biktimang Pilipino,” he said.

The United States Embassy in Manila said in a statement that it is looking into allegations that the suspect in the killing of the 26-year-old victim is an American national.

A team from the US federal law enforcement agency Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) joined local police on Sunday in inspecting the crime scene. American authorities were also present during the victim’s autopsy.

According to the police, the victim died of alleged asphyxiation by drowning.

A report by the Marine Corps Times said a US Marine has been detained aboard the USS Peleliu in connection with the incident. The ship was on Philippine waters as part of the joint military exercises between Manila and Washington.

Olongapo City mayor Rolen Paulino said in a television report the incident occurred on Saturday, the same day the Peleliu docked in Subic Bay. The victim’s body was found inside Celzone Lodge late Saturday night.

Initial investigation by the police showed the victim and her foreign companion visited a disco bar in the city before heading to the lodge.

US Embassy  press attaché Kurt Hoyer has not responded to GMA News Online’s request for comment as of posting time.

Possible whitewash

Should authorities confirm the suspect is a US soldier, Simbulan said the Philippine government must insist the trial be held in local courts to avoid a repeat of the incident involving “Nicole,” the Filipina who was reportedly raped by a US soldier in Subic in 2005.

“Baka ang gawin ng Estados Unidos ay i-insist ang kanilang articles of war sa kanilang military disciplinary code ang gamitin para i-try ang kaso. Going by the record of the US military, normally kapag sila ang nagta-try niyan, baka i-whitewash nila ito dahil ayaw nilang masabi na ang kanilang mga servicemen ay gumagawa ng kung anu-anong krimen sa ibang bansa,” he said.

A Makati court found US soldier Daniel Smith guilty of raping Nicole in 2006. He was ordered detained at the Makati City jail but his lawyers insisted that he be placed under US custody. Philippine officials eventually agreed to have Smith detained at the US embassy.

In April 2009, the Court of Appeals acquitted Smith of the rape charge and ordered his immediate release. A month before the CA released its decision, however, Nicole issued a sworn statement expressing her doubts on "whether the sequence of events in Subic last November of 2005 really occurred the way the court found them to have happened."

Smith left the country immediately after his acquittal.

Discrimination still exists

Dindi Tan, one of the Board Members of the Association of Transgender People in the Philippines (ATP), said the latest incident in Olongapo City proves discrimination and hate against members of the  lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community still exists in the country.

“Hindi pa gaanong tanggap [ang mga LGBT].  Tolerated tayo pero… I don’t think we’ve come to the level that we are accepted,” she said in a separate interview on “News to Go.”

Tan appealed to the government to ensure justice will be served for the victim and her ordeal will not be swept under the rug.

Aside from this, Tan also urged public officials to work for the passage of laws that will protect the rights of the members of the LGBT community.  —Xianne Arcangel/KBK, GMA News