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'Americans are not above law'
19/04/2006 14:27 - (SA)
Manila - A Philippine prosecutor said on Wednesday that he will quit a rape case against four United States marines.
Olongapo city prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni said he was frustrated over the Philippine's justice secretary Raul Gonzales' decision to reduce the charges against three of the defendants.
Jalandoni said he felt he would be ineffective as a member of the prosecution panel because he will keep on "worrying about whether (I) may be inconsistent with the position of the secretary".
On Tuesday, Gonzales said he found no conspiracy surrounding the alleged rape of a 22-year-old Filipino woman by the four marines in November.
He decided to keep only one marine as the principal defendant - who could face capital punishment - and the three others as accessories. They could face up to 20 years in prison.
Jalandoni said: "With that kind of development, your initiative and momentum will be stunted. You become frustrated and disappointed.
'Americans are not above the law'
"I was thinking, what if she was a relative, or my wife, or my daughter, does it mean that we cannot go after them? And it can happen to anybody. Just because they are Americans, they are above the law?"
A spokesperson for Filipino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo backed Gonzales, saying the country's justice department did its job "objectively and impartially".
Presidential spokesperson Ignacio Bunye said: "This is not a political issue affecting our relations with the United States as both countries are one in the search for truth and justice.
"Let us keep our emotions at bay and allow the light of reason and fact to unravel the truth."
US ambassador Kristie Kenney said the Americans will comply with all laws that apply to the rape case: "We want to see justice served in an impartial manner."
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