The Filipino woman who accused six US marines of raping her did not show up at a public hearing ordered by a prosecutor in Subic Bay on Wednesday, at the start of what must be a long and difficult legal process.

Only one of the six accused appeared before the prosecutor while five others were absent in the hearing. The witness of the alleged rape, the driver of a van in which the woman said she was raped, also did not show up.

The US Embassy here said the Olongapo City Prosecutor's Office in Subic Bay former US navy base, where the alleged rape took place, did not require the six US marines to attend the preliminary investigation of the case.

US Embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop said they did not receive a letter from the prosecutor's office requiring the presence of the six accused during the first hearing of the case.

"The six marines alleged to have been involved in the rape of a Filipino citizen have filed their sworn statements. Their physical presence, of all the marines today, was not required by the office of the city prosecutor although all six remain in US custody in the Philippines," Lussenhop told reporters at the Olongapo prosecutor's office.

"The physical presence is an issue between their lawyers, the prosecutors and the fiscal. Under the Visiting Forces Agreement ( VFA), the United States needs to make the people available once requested," he added.

According to local television network ANC, suspect Albert Lara arrived at the prosecutor's office hours before the hearing began. He reportedly wanted to confront with the complainant.

No charges have been formally filed against the six accused after the preliminary investigation.

The woman accused the marines of raping her in a moving van on Nov. 1 or in the early morning of Nov. 2 after the latter had finished participating in a joint military exercise with Filipino forces at the Subic Bay 80 kilometers west of Manila.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has formally requested custody of the accused, who are under custody of the US embassy.

The embassy spokesman said the US Embassy has yet to respond to a request from the Department of Foreign Affairs seeking custody of the six accused.

"We've received a formal request for formal custody but we do not have yet a response to that request," he said.

Source: Xinhua