Students marched toward the US embassy during a protest in Manila. Washington has refused to hand over custody to Manila of four US Marines charged with raping a woman in the Philippines, its embassy said. The Unites States on Tuesday formally rejected a Philippine government request to hand over four U.S. marines charged with rape during their exercise in the Philippines, invoking the VFA that grants it custody of the suspects during legal proceedings.(Xinhua/AFP)

US refuses to surrender marines accused of rape

    MANILA, Jan. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- The U.S. embassy here refused to surrender the custody of four US marines accused of raping a Filipino woman, Philippine Department of Justice said on Tuesday.

    Local radio DZMM quoted Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez as saying that the U.S. embassy invoked a provision in the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the two nations to keep its own custody of the four accused soldiers.

    "What I know is that the DFA (department of foreign affairs) told me yesterday that the US Embassy has already answered our letter sent last November 1 requesting custody of the Americans. The US Embassy said it will not surrender the four," Gonzalez told DZMM.

    However, Gonzalez said the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) would still serve the warrants of arrest on the U.S. suspects anytime Tuesday.

    The Olongapo Regional Trial Court issued warrants last Friday morning for the arrest of the four U.S. soldiers. The judge said the warrants are based on evidence submitted by the prosecutors implicating the four marines in the rape case.

    The VFA allows the entry of U.S. soldiers and their equipment into the Philippines for joint U.S. and Philippine military exercises.

    Under the VFA, the U.S. suspects may be held for trial in the Philippines only for one year. The Philippines maintains jurisdiction over U.S. servicemen who violate Philippine laws, but they shall be in the custody by American authorities unless the Philippine government requests a turnover. Enditem