Filipina Accuses U.S. Soldier of Rape

The Philippine embassy in Tokyo said that a Filipino official would be dispatched to Okinawa to help the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Naha provide assistance to the victim. Philippine Sen. Manuel Roxas II called on the Department of Foreign Affairs to “act swiftly” in ascertaining the facts behind the reported rape. “If legal difficulties arose in a rape committed on Philippine soil, we should learn our lesson and be better prepared in protecting our own national in a foreign country, in a foreign court, under foreign laws,” Roxas said, referring to the rape case in the Philippines that led to the conviction of U.S. Marine Daniel Smith. Roxas stressed that the Philippine government should also double-check information about the incident provided by the U.S. government, which, he said, might “overzealously” protect its soldiers.

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