The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) feared that a cover-up is now happening on the Subic rape case involving 6 US Marines last November 1. 

According to Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, secretary general of KMP, “the issue of how many US Marines were involved in the crime is crucial to the case considering that the driver of the Strarex van used for the crime Timoteo Soriano said that he thinks only one Marine actually did the raping. But also, according to the sworn affidavit of Soriano he categorically said that there were six Marines and he knows them by name because he has been driving for them for a week. He also knows their sitting position in the van and that they did not change positions during the commencement of the crime”
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“Now, it is the fact that Soriano know these Marines that he was readily able to give their names as the following Kieth Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Dominic Duplantis, Corey Barris, and Chad Carpenter of the USS Essex. It would also not be easy to forget the details of such an incident. The question is which of these six is the US embassy hiding. Probably the one which was the primary perpetrator of the crime,” added the peasant leader.

“The best way to settle this is for the US Embassy to surface all the six US Marines in their custody and turn them over to Philippine jurisdiction. If not then they are clearly protecting and abetting the escape of fugitives. By hiding the sixth Marine and keeping the 5 others the US embassy is hoping that the case would crumble. They are adding insult to injury by not turning the culprits over to Philippine authorities,” added Ramos.

“We have also received reports that the rape victim and her family are being approached by government officials not to pursue with the charges and just opt for a settlement. This is servility beyond words, just to save diplomatic relations Malacanang is willing to sacrifice the dignity not just of a woman but that of our country,” ended Ramos. # # #
 

KMP - 6 November 2005