(January 18, 2007) HERE in the U.S., there's a saying that in order to please your boss and go up the ladder, you have to kiss a _ _. Although another meaning of the word is just the plain donkey that should allow me to use the word in this column without being cited as unethical, I'd rather reserve it to the reader's imagination. I mentioned this because the Philippine military just killed the most important member of the Abu Sayyaf Group, which has links to Al-Qaeda.

Abu Solaiman, according to AFP, masterminded a string of attacks including the February 2004 ferry firebombing that left more than 100 people dead in the country's worst terror incident. Following an encounter in the dreaded town of Patikul in Sulu resulting in Solaiman's death, President Arroyo in a statement thanked the United States for its "support in the Philippines' anti-terror campaign" and added "this shows the firm alliance of the two countries in the war against terrorists."

The verbal gesture came after Arroyo recently ordered the transfer of convicted rapist, Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, to U.S. custody because Washington had cancelled the Balikatan joint-military exercises, which is accompanied by more than $114 million in military aid, including $70 million for the exercises alone in the two-year period from 2004-2006. I have been writing about these amounts since last December in order to inform my loyal readers what was at stake here, aside from the fact that Arroyo just cannot say no to Washington's demands.

As I see it, the news about the rape victim, Nicole, her traumatic experience of getting raped and facing her perpetrators in court, is now in the back burner, even if the court has asked Smith to explain why he was transferred. In her statement, the President said, "We thank the United States for your leadership and support. Many thanks to our American allies."

To me, this means, sorry, Nicole, we have to get past this controversy and move on. Oh, I forgot, Arroyo never apologized to Nicole, citing the transfer of Smith to U.S. custody "was in the best interest of the Filipino people." Maybe, Nicole is not in Arroyo's dictionary of being part of the Filipino nation. I just don't get it. I don't know why Mrs. Arroyo, a woman, cannot empathize with Nicole. Moreover, I don't know why some women might be thinking the same way.

Yes, Nicole went to the bar. Yes, she made acquaintance with Smith and three other U.S. Marines, who were his coaccused but were acquitted in the case. But these acts never gave them the right to rape her. In her account, she was gang-raped. I guess, some women will never understand the fear, the trauma, the horrific experience Nicole went through unless they get victimized themselves. Heck, how could I? I am no woman. But I couldn't imagine myself in a situation where I would see my own sister, mother or wife being abused by some guy, let alone a soldier.

A soldier?

A U.S. military soldier in fact, who belongs to the Marines.

U.S. Marines?

The most admired branch of the U.S. military? One may argue that they were the rotten apples and don't deserve to be in the service. But to say that Smith et al were in the Philippines on a "military mission" that - in the words of the U.S. Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney, who incidentally is also a woman - may have included going to the bar and raping the women of the host nation. I didn't say she said that, but that's my interpretation when I speak of Smith and his cohorts.
Arroyo thanks U.S., but never apologizes to Nicole

A review of the Visiting Forces Agreement is in order, even if the U.S. says "it's too early" for that. The Nicole experience is enough reason for this to be done. A 12-year-old Okinawan girl was raped by three U.S. soldiers in 1995 and got seven years in a Japanese prison. Two of these rapists, by the way, were also members of the U.S. Marines, the other a U.S. sailor.

Convicted criminals must be put to jail, not in the custody of some embassy, where he gets treated like a soldier.(RFL)