MANILA (AFP) - The US Marine acquitted on appeal in a high-profile rape case has left the Philippines, according to the American embassy.

The court of appeals Thursday found Lance Corporal Daniel Smith not guilty of raping a Filipina in the northern Philippines in November 2005, overturning a sentence of life imprisonment handed down in December 2006.

"Following the decision of the Philippine Court of Appeals, Daniel Smith departed the Philippines under the authority of United States military officials," the US embassy said in a statement.

The mission served as Smith's custodian while the case went on appeal.

"This has been a difficult and emotional case for all involved, especially their families and loved ones. We hope that the parties can now move on with their lives," it added.

Outside the embassy, police blocked small groups of protesters who denounced the appeal court's ruling and demanded that Manila cut military ties with Washington, its former colonial master, AFP photographers at the scene said.

The appeals court ruled that "no evidence was presented to show force, threat and intimidation applied by the accused" on the woman.

The woman had alleged that Smith sexually assaulted her in a van while in the company of other US Marines.

Smith insisted the sex was consensual.

Last month, the woman issued a statement casting doubt on her earlier testimony.

Smith met the woman in a bar in the port of Subic, after taking part in joint US-Philippine military exercises.

The woman is reported to have left the Philippines for the United States, where show now lives with an American boyfriend whom she met after the alleged rape.