Expressing my Outrage

Was watching the evening news today. If you're from the Philippines, you should be familiar with the Subic Rape case. Now for those unfamiliar with this case, this is about a Filipina who was raped by an American serviceman back in 2006. The reason for my outrage is that it seems that the American serviceman who was convicted in our courts got acquitted. Not only acquitted, but was able to slip away from Philippine soil without a trace.

My outrage comes from the fact that this person may not have been in custody at the US Embassy as we were all led to believe. There was even a press statement with the photograph of this person with a known Philippine official verifying that he is still in the Philippines. The US government refused to turn him over to be incarcerated in our jails when he was first convicted in 2006.

When the press checked our aiports and immigration, they were not able to find any documentation that the said American serviceman left the Philippines yesterday as soon as the American consulate was able to verify that he was indeed acquitted, as they claim.

I feel sad that our own government cannot control people like these just because he is an American and that holding him accountable will sever ties with the American government. I express my outrage for those rape victims and women exploited by foreigners because they are poor. Not only was the filipina victim raped, but so was our justice system and the public trust. We trusted the word given by the American consulate here in Manila that the person was still in their custody. Now how can they explain that the person has no documentation that he left the Philippines? Does this mean that being an American, they can just come and go as they please?