Okinawa rape victim’s mom hits DFA for sleeping on the case

MANILA, Philippines - The mother of the Filipina who was allegedly raped by a US serviceman in Okinawa expressed dismay over the government's lack of support on her daughter's plight.

‘Nanay Nellie’ claimed in a GMA News report Thursday that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has not followed up on the case after the charges against the US soldier have been dropped due to lack of evidence last May 16.

This was the first time that Nanay Nellie has spoken in public after seeking the help of Gabriela, a women’s rights activist group.

For her daughter's 22nd birthday on June 5, “Hazel’s" mother paid a visit to the office of Gabriela, to help trumpet her family's call for justice.

In its defense, DFA Office of Migrant Workers Affairs’ executive director Crescente Relacion said that the department has not slept on the case.

According to him, DFA’s lawyers in Okinawa have already submitted necessary documents to the US military to conduct court martial proceedings.

Reports claimed that an official from the Naha district prosecutor's office said there was no sufficient evidence to pin down the US soldier for the rape charge.

Hazel, a 22-year-old cultural dancer and first-time overseas worker, was allegedly raped in Okinawa just two days after her arrival there from the Philippines last February.

According to an aunt, she was still able to talk to her niece at around 4 p.m. on Feb 17, a few hours before her ordeal with the American serviceman.

Japanese police reports said that Hazel was invited to dinner by a 20-something US serviceman at around 2 a.m. of February 18, the day the alleged rape incident took place in a hotel. Hazel woke up several hours later, bleeding.

Meanwhile, Gabriela is urging President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to ask US President George Bush for an apology over the incident during her 10-day visit to Washington DC later this week.

Although she can already return to the Philippines, Nellie said her daughter remains in Japan to pursue the case against the soldier. - GMANews.TV

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