American held over murder of Filipino

Acting on a Philippine extradition request, US marshalls have arrested an elderly American in California who was charged in Manila over the murder of his Filipino wife, a popular actress, Justice Secretary Simeon Datumanong said.

The arrest of Rod Lauren Strunk was a demonstration by the US that it will honour its extradition treaty with the Philippines even if it involves a US citizen, one lawmaker said. The arrest - swift by Philippine standards - came as a shock to Strunk's lawyers in Manila.

Strunk was charged only last month with having his wife, Nida Blanca, 65, killed at a parking lot in Manila in November 2001.

The case gripped the nation for months as a parade of suspects were detained, then released. One suspect, Philip Medel, said Strunk paid him to stab his wife to death. But Mr Medel recanted in dramatic fashion, claiming that police had tortured him into confessing.

When Strunk, a former actor, flew to the US last year to care for his ailing mother, Blanca's friends feared the law could no longer reach him. They accused him of killing his wife for her money and properties.

But according to House of Representatives foreign relations committee chairman Apolinario Lozada, the arrest proves that the extradition treaty works. 'We gave them Mark Jimenez, they'll give us Rod Strunk,' he said. Jimenez was extradited to the US last December on charges of mail fraud, tax evasion, falsification of public documents and illegal campaign contributions. It took the Philippine government four years to grant the US extradition request.