Panamanian accused of rape declared persona non grata

HASTA LA VISTA. Panamanian Erick Bairnals Shcks with his skateboard falls in line at the immigration area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 on Friday night. Shcks is accused of raping a 19-year-old Filipino woman. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has declared the Panamanian diplomat accused of raping a 19-year-old Filipino woman  persona non grata (PNG), or unwelcome in the country.

The DFA made the declaration after it received a diplomatic note from the Panamanian government saying that it had decided not to waive the diplomatic immunity of Erick Bairnals Shcks, a member of the administrative and technical staff of the Panama Embassy here.

“Immediately thereafter, the DFA declared Mr. Shcks persona non grata,” the DFA said.

The note was delivered by Panama Ambassador to the Philippines Roberto Carlos Vallarino late Friday afternoon, the DFA said on Saturday.

“In accordance with Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Mr. Shcks should be recalled or terminated of his functions by the Panamanian government,” the DFA said in a statement.

“If no action is taken by the Panamanian government within a reasonable period of time after he was declared as PNG, the Philippine government will cease to recognize Mr. Shcks as a member of the embassy and he will accordingly be stripped of his immunities,” it added.

The DFA said the decision to declare Shcks as PNG was immediately conveyed to the Department of Justice for appropriate action.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima earlier said the only way the alleged victim could pursue a criminal complaint against Shcks was for the Panamanian government to waive his diplomatic immunity through the DFA.

Shcks left the country Friday night. He boarded Royal Dutch Airlines flight KL 808 bound for Amsterdam which left the Ninoy Aquino International Airport before 8 p.m.

According to an airport official, who refused to be named for lack of authority to speak to the media on the issue, Shcks was accompanied by Vallarino on the trip.

Airport personnel said the two checked in quietly and did not avail themselves of the customary diplomatic assistance extended to dignitaries at the airport.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said on Saturday the Panama Embassy’s insistence that Shcks had diplomatic immunity was an “unfriendly act” toward the Philippines.

She said Shcks was a mere technical officer whose job did not qualify him to be called a diplomat.

“Panama is showing it does not consider us as a friend. Maybe it should be time for the DFA to call the Panamanian ambassador to the DFA office and ask him to explain this. Maybe the DFA and Malacañang can consider whether we should declare both the suspect and the ambassador as persona non grata,” she said by phone.

The embassy would have shown good faith if it granted Philippine jurisdiction over Shcks who is accused of a private crime, Santiago said.

Shcks was accused of raping a Filipino woman in his condominium in Makati City on April 23, days after befriending her.

The victim had gone to the DOJ to seek help, but De Lima confirmed that Shcks, a technical officer of the Panama Maritime Authority and a diplomatic passport holder, was covered by immunity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The DFA director for immunities and privileges issued a certification that Shcks had diplomatic immunity.

Santiago acknowledged that Philippine officials could not go beyond the certification on the status of the suspect but said the matter of whether Shcks was a diplomat was vague.

“He’s just a mere technical consultant not performing diplomatic functions. This person is in a gray area,” she said.