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Three of Smith’s co-accused — Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier — were acquitted.
For Fatmawati Salapuddin of Jolo, the victory is only “50 per cent.”
Salapuddin, secretary-general of the Bangsamoro Women Solidarity Forum and lead convenor of the Mindanao PeaceWeavers, told MindaNews “kailangan maalis ang US military troops sa Pilipinas para sa kabutihan nating lahat. Dapat ibasura ang Visiting Forces Agreement. (US military troops should not be allowed inside the Philippines for the good of everyone. Junk VFA). This is only one case. American soldiers also raped women in Iraq and elsewhere. They claim to bring democracy. The US government should accept that they are actually intruders…. We do not need the arrogant American soldiers. We have more than enough Filipino soldiers who are good enough to protect the country.” (MindaNews)