Comelec probes 'special treatment' for US soldier

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will summon for questioning the head of a Philippine military unit in General Santos City over the alleged special treatment on an American soldier caught with a 9-mm. pistol during a bar brawl there last week. Radio station dzBB reported Monday that the Comelec will grill Col. Medardo Geslani, head of Task Force Gensan, over the quick turnover of American Master Sgt. Steve Saunders to the latter's superiors. It said the Comelec, which will meet en banc over the incident on Tuesday, will also summon Comelec regional director Michael Abbas to get "inputs" from him on the incident. The dzBB report also reported that residents in General Santos City have expressed dismay over the special treatment to Saunders, who has not been charged for violating a gun ban during the election period which started last January 14. Saunders is a member of an engineering group of the US Army and is part of a United Nations (UN) contingent now building a school in General Santos City. He punched dzRH radio correspondent Henry Araneta during a confrontation last week at a bar in General Santos City, but was found to be carrying a 9-mm pistol. The pistol did not carry an exemption issued by the Comelec. Without exemption from the poll body, the bearer of a firearm faces criminal charges for violating the election period gun ban. Colonel Vicente Porto, commander of the 102nd Army brigade in the area, admitted Saturday that they immediately turned over Saunders to his superiors after the American marine "apologized." "He's a military personnel and the firearm was issued by the military. We turned him over to his superiors and we leave it to them. Besides, he was carrying a mission order," he said in Filipino during an interview on dzRH radio Saturday. He added the case was "amicably settled" and that Araneta had already "forgiven" the American. Last Sunday, Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr said he has called an en banc meeting on the issue. "We already have so much work but we will have to look into this. We'll ask for records of the case and talk about this on Tuesday. This is a matter involving foreign treaties," Abalos said in Filipino during an interview on dzBB radio. Abalos said they will look into whether the gun ban covers personnel covered by treaties such as the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) during the en banc meeting. However, he admitted that there is no basis at present to file charges against Saunders as no charges were formally filed against him before the local police. "If there is probable cause, then he faces charges. We'll get to the bottom of this," he said. Saunders' quick turnover happened less than a month after the surprise transfer of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith to the US Embassy from the Makati City Jail last December 29. Smith was convicted for raping a 23-year-old woman in Subic in November 2005. The US government canceled this year's Balikatan exercises but resumed them following Smith's transfer. When told that the Comelec gun ban covers soldiers and policemen, Porto said he will bring up the matter with Comelec officials in the region on Monday. Meanwhile, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) warned Philippine authorities of "further political consequences" if Sanders is given the same special treatment as Smith. It noted that US embassy press attaché Matthew Lussenhop called the incident as "minor" and that "nobody was arrested and charged." "It would constitute another slap at Philippine national sovereignty and dignity if the Arroyo government again fails to assert custody, charge and punish another American soldier who violated Philippine laws, after the obsequious surrender to US custody of convicted US serviceman Smith," CPP spokesman Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said in a statement on the CPP website. Rosal cited the recent arrest by the South Korean police of a US serviceman for charges of raping and beating up a 67-year old Korean woman. He said the US Army respected the arrest, cooperated fully and without question with South Korean authorities and in fact even profusely apologized for the rape and mauling. "But here, because of the VFA and the mendicancy of the puppet regime, the opposite has happened in the case of Smith and it is again happening in the case of Saunders," Rosal said. Rosal urged dzRH radio reporter Henry Araneta to "be inspired by Nicole's heroic fight and press charges against Msgt. Saunders" for assaulting him. The US serviceman beat with his fist the radio reporter's head as he was drinking with other mediamen and listening to live band music at the Cassado Bar. He said Saunders' bullying of Araneta "typifies the insolence of American soldiers operating in the Philipines who consider themselves above local laws and oppress the locals – an attitude perpetuated by the Arroyo regime's utter subservience to the US." - GMANews.TV