The US Military are trying to get a wider coverage of
immunity from prosecution for US troops who commit
crimes while visiting the Philippines. According to Karen
S. Heath, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Manpower and
Reserve Affairs, US forces already have limited
immunity. The US military want to be able to issue their
own Duty Certificates that will enable them to protect
their men no matter where or under what circumstances
they commit a crime. If the offender is abusing a child in
a motel the navy could sign a piece of paper saying the
man was on official assignment at the time and was
therefore immune from prosecution. What new levels of
absurdity and depravity have these officers descended to
now?

Philippine officials who are inviting back the US Navy to
our ports and are willing to grant all embracing immunity
to US troops are already part of that depravity. They are
giving away chunks of Philippine sovereignty, dignity and
self-respect. No other nation would give up their women
and children as prostitutes to foreign troops and a
certificate of immunity to boot. The U.S. has no other
need for access to 22 Philippine ports other than to get
access to the brothels.

The terrible consequence of the Immunity Clause was
that depravity, crime, and child sex abuse was that it
conveyed the impression that no American stood trial, that
what they did was always okay. The colonial racist
mentality did the rest. White was might and always right,
as the saying goes.

The tolerance shown by local government officials who
encouraged the sex trade and issued the permits and
licenses are equally to blame. God knows the children
were young enough, the navy servicemen could get them
as young as four years old . The US navy itself did an
undercover investigation and reported that sex trade in
children was thriving in Olongapo in 1988 and 1989.
Their official reports say they were offered children as
young as 6 years old, 8 years old, 10 years old, 11 years
old, 13 years old ,16 years old and so on.

These official US Navy reports, photos of the children
and the names of suspects were handed over to local
authorities, the reports say. Richard Gordon was the
mayor from 1980 until he grabbed the chairmanship of
the SBMA his wife became mayor soon after and his
brother a congressman.

Despite official knowledge of the child sex from the US
investigators there were no arrests and no assistance, care
and therapy for the victims. Why this was allowed to go
on only Mr. Gordon can answer. Many cases were
reported to the City prosecutor by social workers but they
were buried, the paedophiles were protected. One of the
most shocking cases where immunity from prosecution
for a US Serviceman was that of Daniel Dougherty, a
U.S. chief petty officer at Subic Bay who with other
sailors were routinely sexually abusing young children in
their rented houses and apartments in Olongapo and
Subic.

Jennifer 9 years old was the youngest child victim.
Eighteen children were been pimped day and night as
prostitutes under the noses of authorities to the sailors and
contracted VD. In great pain they went to the church-run
clinic asking help. The sister notified the authorities and
she was told to keep silent about it. Here was clear
evidence that kids were being sold as sex slaves yet the
suspected pimps named by the children were never
arrested or brought to trial. Dougherty was protected by a
DUTY CERTIFICATE. He was able to disappear "on a
routine" transfer and no protect from local authorities
either. This writer exposed the Dougherty scandal and the
cover up by local officials and Rear Admiral Richard
Dunleavy. The Navy was forced to try Dougherty in
Guam on 13 counts of child abuse and only got one year
in a mental hospital.

Why many ought to be outraged over this immunity issue
is because of the way the US navy was able to sexually
abuse the little children with immunity and impunity when
they were here. The bad effect is felt to this day on the
surrounding communities. Olongapo and Zambales has
the most number of child sex cases in the whole of region
3.

As of today there are 367 cases of child sex abuse filed in
the office of the Provincial and Special Prosecutor for
child abuse cases Dorentino Floresta 269 of these are
already filed in court. What is more shocking is that these
are only since January 1995 up to March 1997. before
then in the 1970's and 1980's hundreds of cases were
summarily dismissed by the city prosecutor. Officially
there was no child sex or child prostitution in Olongapo
there was a policy of denial and cover up and if that didn't
work there was the U.S. duty certificate that said it was
all official business anyway.

By the way one wing of the Gordon-Lorenzana White
Rock Hotel was burnt to the ground the other night. Are
their avenging Angels around? The SBMA fire trucks
arrived too late to save it. Flames could be seen for miles.