justice was not completely served… almost a cop-out.

ayan kasi may bf na eh, ng lalandi pa sa ibang lalaki, tpos ngyn nun may nangyari mgrereklamo ng rape
next time po ingat mga girls: boys + alcohol = bad news
tsaka bakit si smith lang pano un 3 pa at un driver na pinoy
alam naman nya un nangyari d man lang sya ngsumbong(kung rape nga)
dpat un 4 na sundalo at un 1 driver ang dinemanda ni nicole at dpat silang 5 din un makukulong
(opinion lng po ng isang mangmang wag po sana iflame)

opinion ko lang. dapat ipa rape din ang kano sa mga preso sa city jail. tingnan nya lang kung masarap ba ang ma rape. hehehehe

naku etong c nicole, bat sya nagpa lasing, gusto nya ma rape, kung ako yan ni rape ko rin sya.

e sira tong si nicole eh. makipaglasingan ba sa mga kano eh alam naman na ganon sila eh.

c nicole. eh! kasalanan niya yun! she’s proli just pretendin to be raped para sa pera! y would you go with 4 guys you barely know? that’s the question! and sabi nila, there was no evidence of rape! everything was pointing to no rape! gah!

the decision is clearly unjust and intended to appease those leftist women organization which knows nothing better to do than to hate everything american. that decision will definitely be overturned by the higher courts. shame on you judge!

tae si nicole gusto kasi malaki titi kaya hayun kung ayaw nya dapat nong una pa? ginusto rin nya tapos rape hindi na virgin???

Nicole is a typical pinay that would go with the kano and have sex hoping he’ll marry her after and when things don’t turn out the way she hope she scream for bullshit rape story..

popo siguro maliit yong kay smith kaya naasar si nicole ha ha ha

hoi nicole!!!!!!!!feeling moh naman!!!!ayaw mong magpakita sa public kasi pangit ka,,,saka mataba diba??kasi inisip mo na pag nakita ung mukha mo,,sabihin nilang (yuck!!yan ba ung nirape???)hahaha,,wahg kang maoffend nicole ha?totoo naman cguro un!!!!ang gwapo2 ng nangrape sau,,mukha mo tae!!!!nagustuhan mo naman!!!!!!!!hooooooooooo!!!!!!wag ka na!!!!kunwari ka lang,,pannnngggggeeeeeeeeeeeettttttttt

sick.

la ba kau pics ni nicole?

may picture c nicole… gusto nyong makita?
puet ng kalabao kamukha non…

suzzette daw tunay nya pangalan, sa nakita ko sa tv chubby o baboy sya, ewan ko bat nag tsaga c smith sa kanya eh dmi maganda babae sa pinas.

hoy nicole mahiya ka nga..you know the truth sana naman maconsensya ka..ang pangit mo,tska ang guapo ni smith no..yuck!!! your just running after money and you just want to be popular thats why you did that…your not satisfied in one guy, shame on you nicole..

nicole was trying to be a woman in wrong place….

having sex with a woman too drunk to give her full consent is still rape! and to think this guy was being cheered on by the other guys…!!!??? on top of that, to be thrown out of the van like a filthy animal is demeaning to any human being—even if she chose to have a drink with them.

dapat di ka nag pakalasing nicole matanda ka na alam mo naman kung ano kahihinatnan ng ginawa mo nakakahiya ang ginawa mo. di lahat ng tao ay nakuha mo na ang simpatiya marami parin kaming hindi naniniwala saiyo. kung ano man nangyari saiyo ay ikaw ang may kasalanan wag mo ibunton kay smith.
kaya wala tayong turismo sa pilipinas dahil sa mga taong gaya niyo na mapagsamantala kung hindi peperahan ang turista ay kakasuhan naman. sana ay mabuksan ulit ang kaso kung hindi man ay ilipat nalang sa custody ng america si smith.

kung pera lang ang habol mo sana ay sa ibang paraan mo nalang ginawa hindi sa ganitong sinira mo ang buhay ni smith. sana ay matauhan kana. at sa mga taong nagnanais na ma rape din si smith mahiya naman kayo ang daming naitulong ng bansang america para maltratuhin ang tao nila.

oo..suzette nicolas ang pangalan nyan!!lumba2 yan eh..d q alam bat nagustuhan ni smith..tingnan nyo sa friendster..nandun xia!!haha..ung mga gus2ng magwelga dyan laban kay smith..email nyo lang aq..friendsteh_friendsteh@yahoo.com.salamat!!ipaglaban natin ang gawapong papang c smith

PLEASE READ!
nicole, makonsensya ka naman, alam mo kung ano talaga ang tunay na nangyari. alam kong kahiya-hiya kapag umamin kang may kasalanan ka rin, pero lalong mas kahiya-hiya kung patuloy mong itago ang katotohanan! siguro feel na feel mo na nakuha mo ang simpatiya ng masa, well mali ka. yung mga taong nasa paligid mo are just minority groups! maingay nga lang. kailangan pa ngang manuhol para lumampas sila ng limampu na mag rally sa kalye.

at tungkol naman sa mga sumusuportang grupo kay Nicole( suzette nicolas),
lalo na yang GABRIELA, anakpawis and other leftist groups. hoy! tanggalin nyo na yang mga maskarang sinusuot nyo! kunwari pa kayong panig sa hustisya! yon pala’y kaanib ng mga KOMUNISTA!!!! masyado namang bias ang mga sinasabi nyo tungkol sa mga Americano. ang sabihin nyo gusto lang ninyong siraan ang US dahil ito ang strongest protector of democracy. alam kong hindi ninyo goal ang katarungan kundi ang maging bansang kumonista ang Pilipinas. hindi ba kayo nagtataka mga nagbabasa tuwing may konting mali lang ng US rally kaagad ang mga ito, pero nung mag_nuclear test ang north korea nag-rally ba sila para punahin ang bansa iyon? hindi! dahil nga kapwa nila komunista. gusto nilang maging kagaya sa north korea ang pilipinas. kunwari mga human rights protectors! mga hypocrito’t hipocrita! mga NPA! nabasa ko ang mga libro ninyo halataang mga NPA kayo! kung ayaw ninyo ng democrasya edi lumayas kayo sa bansang ito, hindi namin kayo kailangan! manirahan kayo sa north korea and enjoy! that’s all!

may pahabol pa pala ako. PARA SA MGA KAKAMPI NI SMITH at gustong suportahan siya meron akong nakitang site na nagsasabi:
TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO WANTS TO SUPPORT LANCE CORPORAL DANIEL SMITH, YOU CAN CALL OR TEXT OUR HOTLINE NUMBERS 09198353728, 09179016592 AND 8220305.

YOU CAN ALSO SENT DANIEL SMITH EMAILS AT JUSTICE4DAN@HOTMAIL.COM AND JUSTICE_FOR_DAN@YAHOO.COM

WE WILL PRINT ALL YOUR EMAILS AND WE WILL GIVE IT TO DANIEL SMITH.

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS!
( http://www.tristancafe.com/forum/82177 )

Smith is innocent…Hoy nicole, muka kang pwet ng manok..

dapat kinukul0ng din yan c judge poz0n..mali ung verdict nya eh…may anak siya na babae sabe nia..dyos ko poh…dapat ipaglaban ng america yan eh..

maling2 un ginawa ni judge ..sayang ang kinabukasan ni smith..

Alam nio ba pati c Benjamin Pozon ung judge gusto rin mag pa rape kay US Marine Daniel Smith ?!

kasalanan naman ni nicole yan e..dis oras ng gabi e nasa gimikan pa at tumutungga ng beer.sows!di gawain ng matinong babae yan day!

stop this!!!you’re too rude!!!

A 22 year old woman who is engaged to another is partying in a bar with four Marines (located in a district known for prositution) and is engaging in public lewd behavior and drunkeness… should not be surprised that her actions were interpreted as giving consent to sex. I am not saying she deserved it. What I am saying as that she had the opportunity to decline prior to becoming inebriated, and that by her irrepsonsible actions put herself in the situation. Hundreds (perhaps thousands) of Filipinas are raped and/or betrayed at the hands of Filipinos (in a much more brutal fashion than this) . Nicole was using the sensationalism of this case by turning it into an issue of Philippine sovreignity, and inviting all the leftists to climb aboard. The truth is, she bears much of the responsibilty for what happened to her.

Basta naninawala ako na walang rape na nangyari malandi lang talaga yang si nicole, ‘di nag iisip! hirap kasing paniwalaan.

According to one source, medical reports revealed forcible sex. In short, she was sexually assaulted. Did the prosecution effectively challenge those reports with other medical findings showing the opposite?

..poor smith im sorry pero nakakalungkot naman tingnan ang mga pictures ni “SMITH” na may karatula pa! sana sinabayan din ng picture ni “NICOLE” yan pare fair..PEACE OUT!

ur ryt dude…!y nga naman, a descent gurl barely go w/ some1 she ddnt knw…..tama rin kayo, dapat din i pa raped c pozon kai l/c. daniel smith…..can u tl me the exactly address of makati city jail, so that i can send a letter for daniel smith…..rply on:love_kita_u@yahoo,comty…..God bless daniel smith and shame on u nicole

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Daniel Smith is innocent.
I’m just a super slut..
http://www.justicefordan.blogspot.com/

di naman na rape yan eh. meron bang na-rape sa sumama from one province to another? this leftists are just using her and i hope someone can put her pics.. pangit ba? hehehehe

Suportahan natin si daniel smith…

feeling mo nicole maaawa sau mga tao… bibigyan ka ng mga scholarship, trabaho, bahay at lupa… kapal muka mo… tapos sabihin mo pa gusto mo mag simula ng bagong buhay sa ibang bansa, parinig kapa.. pano hindi ka naka huli ng kano kaya nagwawala ka ngayon.. ano ba ginagawa mo sa subic nag ka-kano hunting???

alam nyo ba guys kapag magiging bias din ang Court of Appeals at ipalabas nila na ni-rape ni smith si Suzette Nicolas, maaaring makulong si Smith sa Muntinlupa. huwag sanang gayahin ng court of appeals si judge benjamin pozon. nakakakita lang ng isang daan na nagrarally para supporta kay nicolas, naniniwala agad na nasa kay nicole ang simpatiya ng masa. tanga talaga tong si pozon!!!!

More stories are coming out and distorting the truth about the case. Nevertheless, it should be good to know the facts before the media and other sensational people completely erase the truth about this case. The findings during interrogation were:
1.) Sex was not just consensual; but ‘Nicole’ offered to have sex with all four Marines for money. The testimony of the other Marines support this, and that they declined because they were repulsed by the idea of sharing a common woman (which would also be a violation of the military hygiene code).
2.) A condom was used; testimony from a convenience store clerk(which was not admitted as evidence by the prosecution) stated that Ms. Suzette Nicolas herself bought the condoms, and was shown on the store security camera making the purchase.
3.) ‘Nicole’ had changed her story quite a few times. Initially she told the US Navy Petty Officer who was with her stepsister that all four Marines took turns raping her. When it was ascertained during the investigation that only Lance Corporal Smith had intercourse with her, she changed her testimony to attest that the three other Marines merely “cheered Smith on” during the alleged sexual assault.
4.) ‘Nicole’ wasn’t thrown from the moving van as she had alleged. She was dropped off at her hotel, and was observed by the late night attendant as “cursing the occupants of the van for not giving her the money they agreed upon”. Once again, this testimony was not admitted as evidence during the pre-trial.
5.) ‘Nicole’ is a known prostitute in Zamboanga city. She has another ‘boyfriend’ who also happens to be a US Marine who is now based in Okinawa, Japan. The reason they’re keeping pictures of her from the press is because she will undoubtedly be recognized by quite a few ‘boyfriends’ of hers who send her money from time to time whenever she writes them letters pleading for monetary support.
6.) US Navy Petty Officer Christopher Mills picked up ‘Nicole’ and her half-sister, Ana Liza from a bar in Zamboanga. He initially invited Ana Liza to come up to Subic with him, but ‘Nicole’ insisted on coming along. Petty Officer Mills then agreed to allow ‘Nicole’ to come along.
7.) ‘Nicole’ refused to return to the hotel with Mills and Ana Liza earlier on in the evening, her exact quote: “I can take care of myself, I’ll be fine with these guys”. Mills and Ana Liza then left her in the company of the four Marines while they returned to their room at the hotel.

With these seven pieces of evidence, it’s not really hard to piece together what really happened that night. The Philippine media never printed the testimony of the four Marines which painted a clear picture of what really transpired on the evening of November 1, 2005. Instead, the Philippine media has unfairly sensationalized the whole case, not using one single fact, but targeting public sympathy to help win the case in favor of Ms. Suzette Nicolas. As for the truth, it needs to be told as a warning to all enlisted personnel out there who can’t keep their zippers up. Semper Fi!

the best thing we can do is to pray nalang that justice will prevail. hindi constitutional justice ha, kundi GODLY JUSTICE! constitutional justice is blind.

TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO WANTS TO SUPPORT LANCE CORPORAL DANIEL SMITH, YOU CAN CALL OR TEXT OUR HOTLINE NUMBERS 09198353728, 09179016592 .

YOU CAN ALSO JOIN THE JUSTICE FOR SMITH

YOU CAN ALSO SENT DANIEL SMITH EMAILS AT JUSTICE4DAN@HOTMAIL.COM AND JUSTICE_FOR_DAN@YAHOO.COM

WE WILL PRINT ALL YOUR EMAILS AND WE WILL GIVE IT TO DANIEL SMITH.

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS!

naawa me kay daniel smith…..
ihulog si Nicole!!!!!

i am a gal okay..
smith innocent

thats why some boys hates mayabang at malandi na babae
hay naku

support ako kay smith

grabe kayo….all those people above me are sick…i can’t believe you’re all saying the same stupid stuffs. mga tuta ng america…akala nyo kung sino kayo may alam…what’s ur basis for saying that smith is innocent? his angel-like face? Cguro kapag andun kayo sa place ni nicole nung gabing yun, na rape na rin kayo kasi ganyan kayo mag-isip. The court had evidences and i believe even if nicole was “wild” nobody had the right to do that to her and treat her like an animal. I’m totally in shock and disappointed for reading those awful feedbacks. Grabe…

kayong mga anti-smith bago kayo mag-comment maaari bang ipakilala noinyo sa mga tao na Komunista kayo. ang galing ninyong mamintas sa US eh yung mga kapatid ninyong mga NPA na nanununog ng bus, namimilitr manghingi ng revolutionary taxes, nang-rerecruit ng mga kabataan hindi man lang ninyo kayang pintasan. MGA TUTA NG MGA KOMUNISTA!!! ipokrito’t ipokrita!
ang sabihin ninyo inggit kayo sa US dahil alin sa mga dios ninyong sina Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh, at si Binibining Jose Maria Sison hindi nakayang lampasan ang America. at tsaka diba bawal sa communist ruile ang mag-rally dahil walang freedom of speech. eh anong ginagawa ninyo sa kalye. gusto ninyo komunista eh gamit kayo ng gamit sa prinsipyong demokrasya. Ipokrito’t ipokita!

NICOLE will you pls stop acting like a decent woman! dahil kung disenteng babae ka hindi ka dapat nakipag lasingan sa mga kano dahil for sure gusto mo rng may mang-yari sa inyo..pina papangit mo ang tingin sa ating mga filipina ng ibang bansa! shame on you! and to those people na nagwewelga pa para kay nicole specially sa GABRIELA hindi porke’t na api ang isang babae kung todo welga kayo sana naman isipin nyo muna mabuti kung karapat dapat ba na suportahan si nicole,we all know that she is not telling the truth!.im not against GABRIELA in fact i am very thankful na my organization na sumusoporta sa mga kababaihan pero sana naman pag aralan nyo mabuti.

Tirada ng mga pokpok!!!
Gabi na kasi nasa club pah!!!!
kung di nga naman tanga
buti nga sayo na rape ka!!!
ang landi mo kasi!!!It is all your fault!!!
kaya mag-dusa ka!!

i feel sorry for smith..
nakakalito kung cnu papaniwalaan..
ayaw daw sya pakasalan kya dinemanda?
not imposible ryt?
kung ako rarapin ni smith papayag ako..hahaha

Why it is that she rather have a male doctor, Dr. Rolando Marfel Ortiz III, do the physical examination and not the female Dr. Estera? Why did she hug Jaime Avila Jr., SBMA bike patrol, and beg not to leave her? She was just raped, right? A “Man” raped her? Was that the reason why the James Gordon Hospital in Olongapo City only produced “STD and Pregnancy Tests” knowing the assailant(s) wearing condom(s)? Where is the BAC test (Blood Alcohol Content)?

Can you rape a unwilling or unconscious female in 10 to 15 minutes? She is wearing a tight denim jeans, plus the condom and what judge Pozon’s “bestial acts” in a tight space such as in the back of the van.

Was it a family vacation or just the two females and two US Marines in a hotel named Grand Leisure Hotel. Why do you think it was called Grand Leisure Hotel? Where is the condom(s) really? In the Van or somebody took it out of the van and say with the help of Joseph Khonghun and Maria Fe Castro testimonies. I saw it in the news, Ces Drillon was even touch it with a pen to show to the TV views “the condom”.

With her pants down to her knees how can she be raped? You can’t spread your legs!!!! One of her pants leg should be off if it was supposed to be “a quickie” or “one night stand”. Remember it happened in 10 to 15 minutes as stated in the affidavits.

Feliciano Salonga, chair of SBMA told GMA television news that the woman was hysterical….without clothes except panties. “We gave her a pair of pants to cover herself”, he said. It was dated last November 5, 2005

The evidence is strong against the 6 American servicemen accused of gang-raping a 22 year old Filipina. There was obviously no conscent, Zosimo Paredes, executive director of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Force Agreement said. SBMA administrator Armand Arreza told INQ7.net in a phone interview Friday that there were witnesses, including the Filipino driver of a rented van where the alleged rape took place. A condom was even found inside the van, said Arreza. The SBMA is extending legal and even accommodation assistance to the woman, who is from Zamboanga and just spending a vacation in Subic, said Arreza. She met the Americans who invited her to go with them in a rented van. A few hours later, witness said they saw the woman being dumped unconscious from a van on a road, the SBMA said in a statemetn. The woman is said to be from a well-off family in the southern Philippine province, said a foreign affairs official who asked not to be named. - INQ7.net First posted 02:25pm Nov. 4, 2005

First posted 06:12am (Mla time) Nov 07, 2005
By Tonette Orejas, Ansbert Joaquin
Inquirer News Service

Editor’s Note: Published on page A4 of the Nov. 7, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
[Editor's Note: Timeline as narrated by Zambales Representative Milagros Magsaysay based on interviews with the victim, her stepsister, the driver of the Starex van and eight witnesses]
NOV. 1
9 p.m.
The victim, her stepsister and the latter’s boyfriend, Christopher James Mills, go to Neptune bar. Victim dances with US soldier surnamed Reynolds. This man is later mistakenly questioned as a suspect. (The driver fails to recognize him as one of the men who rode in the Starex van. Later, the US Marines’ logbook shows Reynolds returning to the USS Essex at 9:30 p.m. Investigators find no reason to detain him).
About 10 p.m. Grand Leisure Hotel
Stepsister invites victim to return to Grand Leisure Hotel where they are staying. Hotel is less than a km north of Neptune . The victim prefers to stay longer at the bar and her stepsister leaves her there. Later, Mills volunteers to look for the victim but fails to find her.
10 p.m. Aresi Restaurant
Driver and a US Marine surnamed Carpenter dine at Aresi Restaurant, less than 1 km north of Neptune . Four servicemen call to tell Carpenter and driver to go to Neptune . (Driver says he has been driving for three servicemen for a week. He identifies the two others as Smith and Boris).
10:30 p.m. Neptune with Dewey Avenue street post
The group gathers at Neptune . Soldiers order driver to go inside the bar. He is given a bottle of beer. About 15 to 20 minutes later, driver is told to prepare the van as they are leaving. The five men and the victim ride the van. Driver says he is not sure if victim is lucid at this point. Driver is instructed to go around Dewey Avenue .
As van travels this route, Carpenter shouts: “Go, go, Smith.” The three men take turns shouting “F**k! F**k!” The three men stand on their knees, their backs to the driver. Driver says the group did not take turns raping the victim. Driver tries to switch on the light inside the van. Carpenter stops him. Carpenter instead turns up the radio louder. The incident takes 10 to 20 minutes.
The Starex van stops somewhere along Alava Pier and there unloads the girl. Driver says victim’s pants lowered to her knees.
11:15 p.m. Subic Telecom-Subic Chamber of Commerce offices
Eight people are at the Alava Pier, between the Subic Telecom and Subic Chamber of Commerce offices, to watch US soldiers return to the ship (this is a practice by locals during the years when the US Navy was still at Subic until 1992). They say a Starex van pulled over and a black man alighted and sat on the pavement. Two Caucasians emerge later carrying the victim, by her hands and feet, as if she were a pig (”parang baboy”). The victim has her shirt and underwear on. Another Caucasian emerges from the van, throws away the remaining beer in a bottle. He rolls the bottle in the direction of the victim. He gets in the van and throws a pair of pants the victim’s way.
The eight witnesses get near the victim. They say she looks “groggy.” A condom is hanging from her underwear while a trip ticket falls on the pavement. The ticket belongs to Star Ways Tours and Travel owned by one George Day at Clark . Witnesses call an SBMA mobile patrol to report a “possible rape.” They fetch victim’s stepsister at the hotel.
NOV. 2
2 a.m.
Victim is taken to James Gordon Hospital in Olongapo City , just outside the freeport , for a medico-legal test. The last thing she remembers is she felt dizzy at Neptune .
” Liberty ” or recreation time for US troops ends.
6 a.m.
The search for suspects ends after they are presented in a lineup before the van driver.
9 a.m. Alava Pier
USS Essex leaves Alava Pier.
11 a.m. LED office
US Naval Intelligence Service (NIS) begins investigation, gets statements from victim, driver and eight witnesses at the SBMA’s law enforcement department (LED).
Victim tells investigators that the last thing she remembers is she felt dizzy at Neptune bar.
NOV. 3
US NIS presents five suspects to SBMA Chair Feliciano Salonga and Administrator Armand Arreza.
2:30 p.m.
A complaint for rape is filed against the suspects before the Olongapo City prosecutor’s office.

While the lawyers from the defense and the prosecution were slugging it out in Wednesday’s preliminary investigation of the rape case against six US servicemen, Suzette tried to recant her statement that she was raped. Two officials of the Department of Justice who requested anonymity said the victim had wanted to meet with Justice Sec. Raul Gonzalez Sr. to swear a supplemental complain affidavit contrary to her rape complaint. The victim initially said she was gang-raped by six US Marines. The DOJ officials said the victim maintained that what she last knew was that she was just being kissed by one of the six accused and she wanted the part in her testimony that she had been raped to be stricken out. The truth is the victim intends to recant the rape charges. Her recantation is that, what she remembers is that she was being kissed. She wants to delete the element of rape in her original complaint-affidavit. She wanted to swear out her statement on the rape portion. Gonzalez on Tuesday turned down the request of the victim accompanied by lawyer Minerva Ambrosio because he said he did not want to be accused of being biased for any of the parties in the case. When the DOJ chief refused to meet them, the victim and her lawyer went to the office of Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuno and State Prosecutor Lilian Alejo to subscribe her withdrawal. If the portion, the rape allegation is deleted, the case is dead. It will be lessened to sexual abuse or sexual molestation, the DOJ officials said. Maria Fe Castro said in her sworn statement that she personally saw two of the apparently drunk US Marines carrying the panty-clad victim like a pig and dropped her body from the van to a grassy portion of the Subic Bay Freeport’s parking lot along Waterfront Road . Sunstar November 24, 2005

Jaime Avila Jr., a member of the SBMA bike patrol, said he spotted the condom on the ground not far from the spot where he saw Suzette weeping and embracing his fellow security officer, Noele Paule, at around 12:15am of Nov. 2, 2005, near the Telecom Building of Waterfront Road . There was a possibility that the woman was molested, according to the bystanders who saw her being unloaded from the van. I inspected the place and saw a possible piece of evidence, Avila said. He wrapped the condom in a piece of paper, put it in his pocket, and later turned it over to the SBMA Intelligence and Investigation Office. Close to where he had found Nicole, Paule picked up a trip ticket on which was written Starex van and the company name Starways Transport Service Inc. In her complaint, she accused Smith of raping her at around 11:30 pm on Nov. 1, 2005 while Carpentier, Silkwood, and Duplantis egged him on. Gerald Muyot, a security guard at the Neptune Bar, led a demonstration of how Daniel Smith supposedly loaded a barely conscious Suzette onto the van. Muyot had testified to seeing Smith carrying a drunken Nicole piggyback as they made their way out of the Neptune between 11:00 pm and 11:30 pm on Nov. 1, 2005. Published on page A1 June 10, 2006 Philippine Daily Inquirer

Wycoco said that the condom that was found inside the van used where the supposed rape took place, was not included in the evidence to be examined by the Bureau as it already yielded a negative result from a test conducted by the Philippine National Police. He says that it takes about two weeks before the results of the DNA test is known. The Manila Bulletin Nov. 15, 2005

The six Marines were charged with rape before the Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office Thursday. The victims said the Americans took turns in raping her inside the van they had rented before leaving her unconsciously by the roadside. Van driver Timoteo Soriano has also submitted a sworn statement corroborating the victim’s claims that she was forcibly taken by the six servicemen. Manila Standard Today November 7, 2005

Two officials of DOJ requesting anonymity confirmed reports Wednesday that she want to recant her charges that she was raped. What she remembers is that she was being kissed. She wants to delete the element of rape in her original complaint-affidavit. She was with her lawyer Minerva Ambrosio. The alleged victim, Ambrosio and her other lawyer Katrina Legarda were absent in the preliminary hearing at the Olongapo Prosecutor’s Office. Maria Sheila Bazar, appearing as lead counsel for the victim, said they would no longer present the victim to shield her from further embarrassment. Castro in her sworn statement said she saw two of the apparently drunk US Marines carrying the victim, who was clad only in her panties, like a pig and dropped her body from the van to a grassy portion of the Subic Bay Freeport’s parking lot along Waterfront Road . Malaya November 24, 2005

The NBI chief said the bureau will not conduct a laboratory test on the condom which was found at the Hyundai Starex sports utility van where the suspects raped the victim. Unless the victim’s lawyers ask the NBI to do that. Right now we haven’t received any request, said Wycoco. Initial medical test conducted at the James Gordon Memorial Hospital in Olongapo City showed that the victim had a number of cuts in her genitals but was negative for sperm. Reports showed that the victim came from Zamboanga with her step-sister to meet the latter’s boyfriend, who was among those who participated in the joint military exercise. Manila Standard Today Nov. 15, 2005

A single condom was found in the van, and the police said this would be used to obtain DNA information to identify who used it. Yesterday, Rep. Milagros Magsaysay of Zambales said the American authorities had already conducted their own investigation and had left behind the six servicemen. She added that there were eight witness who identified the suspects. The driver, Timoteo Soriano Jr., retracted his statement in a TV interview, saying it was take under duress. Assistant Prosecutor Raymond Viray said Soriano may face perjury charges if he retracts his statement. Manila Standard Today November 09, 2005

1. A used condom found inside the Starex van where six US Marines allegedly gang raped a 22 year old Filipino woman last Nov. 1 will be used by government prosecutors as evidence against the servicemen. ”We have evidence…we will pursue this case and we will not let them get away with their crime,” said a ranking official from the Department of Foreign Affairs who asked not to be named. A report submitted by the Presidential Commission on the VFA to the Palace said investigators will conduct DNA tests on the condom to determine which among the six suspects – not five as earlier reported – had used it. The report also said the driver of the van has agreed to testify against the US soldiers. “I saw how those US Marines mercilessly raped the girl inside the van. It was really horrible,” the driver, Timoteo Soriano, said in a sworn statement. He added that while he was driving the rented blue Starex van, he heard the US Marines shouting, “Go, go Smith..go!” The victims, who reportedly comes from a wealthy Zamboanga family, has filed a case before the Olongapo prosecutor’s office against US servicemen Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Dominic Duplantis , Corey Barris and Chad Carpentier. Records show that medico-legal officer Dr. Rolando Ortiz II conducted the medical examination on the victim before the rape case was filed. Ortiz said the victim sustained bruises and contusions in several parts of her body and probable penetration in her sex organ. He declined, however to offer a professional opinion until he is called to testify in court. The alleged rape took place on Nov. 1 following joint military exercises in Subic . The SBMA said the alleged victim had been visiting a karaoke bar when she met the Americans, who invited her to go with them in a rented van. A few hours later, witnesses said they saw the woman being dumped unconscious from a van on a road, the authority said in a statement. Manila Standard Today Nov. 5-6, 2005

Subic rape victim tells of incident Nov. 28, 2005 Malou Dungog
OLONGAPO CITY — The controversy sparked by the Nov. 1 rape case of a Filipino girl by six United States servicemen continue as the next preliminary investigation will be heard Nov. 29.
The victim, a native of Zamboanga City and manager of a Food Haus in Southern Command, Zamboanga City came to Subic Bay on Oct. 30 on board a Honda Civic, which she and siblings rented in Manila .
In her statement executed before Administering Officer on Nov. 2, the victim said she arrived from Zamboanga to Manila and from there rented a car to Subic Bay with siblings Anna Liza (24); Ma. Carmela, 12; Ricsan, 24; and Ryan, 23. They checked in at Grand Leisure Hotel reserved by a friend, a certain Chris Mills from USS Stockholm.
On the night of the same date, the siblings went to dinner at a restaurant here with a certain Carlos Ocacio, another US serviceman, go bar-hopping to different entertainment facilities at about 10:30 until past 11 p.m. at Neptune Club then returned to the hotel to retire for the evening.

Now, Suzette S. Nicolas… how did you get to Subic????

Who is Joseph Khonghun? He is the brother of the mayor of Subic.

Filipino businessman Joseph Khonghun, testified Thursday that he was the Marines leaving the van their warship in the former Subic Bay Naval Base, and in court identified Smith and Silkwood as the ones who carried her from the van to the pavement. “She was sitting on the pavement trying to reach her pants,” Khonghun said. “The pants were below her knees.” After the Marine left, a male bystander helped to her feet. Khonghun said a woman who was with him, Maria Fe Castro, noticed something dangling from the other woman’s panties, pulled it out and saw it was a condom. June 8, 2006 Associated Press

Per Randy Escolango, a lawyer for the woman’s family, that seven new witnesses would describe the gruesome ordeal. They are prepared to testify that the woman was dragged like a pig into the van and later dropped off from the vehicle after the allege crime, he said. They would also testify that they saw the Marine quickly board a US naval ship docked at Subic after the incident. First posted Nov. 16, 2005 Subic , Agence France Presse.

DNA in underwear matches Philippines rape victim
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July 19, 2006

Dr. Francisco Supe Jr., a forensic analyst from the DNA Analysis Section of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory, took the stand and disclosed in court for the first time that DNA was present in two pieces of evidence. According to Supe, DNA of complainant “Nicole” was found in samples of “biological fluid” found on the panties she was wearing on the night of Nov. 1, 2005 and in the condom purportedly used by accused Lance Corporal Daniel Smith in committing the alleged rape.

The used condom was retrieved at Subic’s Alava Pier where a distraught Nicole was found after the alleged rape.

“The condom and the underwear had female DNA, and they matched. They are the same DNA profiles … which means they most likely belong to the same person,” the expert witness said during direct examination by State Prosecutor Hazel Valdez.

Only Nicole’s underwear tested positive for male DNA—a result that Supe attributed to the possible “degradation” of bodily fluids on the condom to “environmental insults, particularly the humid condition, bacterial factors that may have contaminated it … and the enzyme inside DNA which destroys it when functioning outside a living system.”

In reply to Valdez’s question, Supe said that while it was possible that the evidence had not been handled properly before the turnover, he said the condom and the panties were not contaminated as they still yielded DNA samples.

Upon Valdez’s questioning, Supe related how analysts came to match the female DNA found in both specimens with that of the complainant.

He said Nicole’s DNA, extracted from a blood sample that she had voluntarily provided, was the same as that found in the panties and the condom.

“I am comparing now, and it appears that they match exactly — the DNA profiles generated from the blood sample and the samples generated from the condom and the underwear,” said Supe, referring to two DNA test results he was holding.

Valdez then sought Supe’s expertise on the possible indications of the presence of male DNA in a woman’s underwear, and asked him its possible source.

Supe replied: “We’re dealing here with a [pair of panties] and you would think of areas that come in contact with a panty… The most probable source is either saliva or seminal stains. But if you go by logic, I don’t see any reason why anybody would lick a panty.” While the test may lead experts to areas where DNA can be extracted, it cannot specify which part of the body the spots came from, Supe had explained.

Supe said the owner of the male DNA could not be identified as yet, as the crime laboratory lacked a sample with which to compare the results. None of the accused—-Smith, Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis, and Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier—had submitted his specimen for DNA testing. The prosecution panel had filed a motion on July 17, asking the court to compel the accused to submit blood samples for comparison with the male DNA found in Nicole’s panties. Defense lawyers told the court that they would file their reply on July 20.

In response to the question on how could a female’s DNA be in a used condom, Supe replied: “The most plausible is that the inside of the condom came in contact with [Nicole]… Maybe that part of the condom was rubbed with [Nicole],” he said. “Most likely it came in contact with the genital area, [but it] was turned inside out most likely, such that the [DNA] specimen was preserved.”

When asked to demonstrate how a condom could have been reversed, Supe had apparently anticipated the question and brought a condom. He then demonstrated how a condom could have been turned inside out in the act of removing it.

Defense lawyer Jose Justiniano said Supe’s testimony did not help prove rape. He said the presence of the male and female DNA in the specimen could at most prove that a man and a woman had sex, not whether or not there was “a presence of force or intimidation,”

This case has garnered nationwide attention in Philippines because it involves US military men stationed in Philippines. As required by the Visiting Forces Agreement, the case has to be resolved within one year.

Cross-examination of Supe is scheduled for Thursday, July 20.

Alleged Rape Victim In U.S. Marine Case Insists On Replacing Prosecutors

Komfie Manalo - All Headline News Foreign Correspondent
Manila, Philippines (AHN) - The Filipino complainant in the Subic rape case and her mother insisted on replacing the panel of prosecutors on Wednesday, even as the trial nears its conclusion.

The insistence of “Nicole” and her mother to replace their lawyers highlights the off-court conflict between the complainant and the chief prosecutor of the case. The issues began when the alleged victim accused her government lawyers of a lop-sided performance during the cross-examinations of the four American suspects.

On Wednesday, Nicole, the court-appointed name for the victim, told the justice department how, as early as July, Senior State Prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos, purportedly pushed for a settlement of the case against the complainant’s wish.

In an affidavit, the victim’s mother said De los Santos had once conceded ”we cannot do anything if they call up the judge” to secure the acquittal of the four accused U.S. Marines.

She wrote in her affidavit, “De los Santos told me that the family of the accused already agreed for a settlement. She told me that since my daughter no longer wants to return to Zamboanga, my children need to move to a new place.

“She told us to write whatever we want. My daughter and my other children can be granted permanent status while me and Ana (Nicole’s stepsister) can be given a multiple entry visa.”

Nicole, 22, has accused Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, of St. Louis, of raping her in a van on November 1 at the Subic Bay freeport, a former U.S. Naval base, while three other Marines cheered him on. If convicted, all four face a maximum of 40 years in jail.

See how the often they changed lawyers??? Change lawyer, change venue = different version, smoother version. Practice makes perfect, you know?

Gerald Muyot, who was posted outside the Neptune at around the same time, told the court that he saw an American carrying a very drunk Nicole piggyback on his way out of the bar and loading her into a green Starex van. “The American said, She’s with me, we’re gonna go now” Muyot testified, adding: “I became suspicious because he told me that when I wasn’t even asking him – and why would he say that to me? That’s why I took a piece of paper from my wallet and took note of the van’s plate number.” Muyot said that at around 2:45 am of Nov. 2 or a few hours after he saw the American load the drunken woman into the van, a mobile patrol car arrived in front of the Neptune . He said the same woman he had seen in the arms of the American, whom he later identified as Smith, alighted and asked security guards if there were any other US servicemen inside the bar. “She said the men did something bad to her and she wanted to see if there were any other US Marines inside. So I escorted her inside the club, but when she saw that there were no other Marines there, she left.” Muyot said. First posted 01:03 am Published on page A1 June 3, 2006 Philippine Daily Inquirer

June 8, 2006 Associated Press

Filipino businessman Joseph Khonghun, testified Thursday that he was the Marines leaving the van their warship in the former Subic Bay Naval Base, and in court identified Smith and Silkwood as the ones who carried her from the van to the pavement. “She was sitting on the pavement trying to reach her pants,” Khonghun said. “The pants were below her knees.” After the Marine left, a male bystander helped to her feet. Khonghun said a woman who was with him, Maria Fe Castro, noticed something dangling from the other woman’s panties, pulled it out and saw it was a condom.

Gerald Muyot failed to record in his logbook the unusual event he noticed while manning his post on the evening of Nov. 1, even while he managed to jot them down on a small piece of paper. He showed the court how Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith carried the drunk victim on his back and load her onto the Starex van.

Earlier on Monday, Gerald Muyot, a security guard of Neptune Bar reiterated his testimony in cross-examination about seeing Smith carrying the drunk and unconscious woman on his back and bringing her to the van. First posted 04:19 pm June 05, 2006 INQ.net Associated Press

Was Suzette S. Nicolas dragged like a pig, carried like a pig, piggy back like a pig, forced her in the van or simply walked with the US Marines and got in the van?

Per Randy Escolango, a lawyer for the woman’s family, that seven new witnesses would describe the gruesome ordeal. They are prepared to testify that the woman was dragged like a pig into the van and later dropped off from the vehicle after the allege crime, he said. They would also testify that they saw the Marine quickly board a US naval ship docked at Subic after the incident. First posted Nov. 16, 2005 Subic, Agence France Presse.

Gerald Muyot failed to record in his logbook the unusual event he noticed while manning his post on the evening of Nov. 1, even while he managed to jot them down on a small piece of paper. He showed the court how Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith carried the drunk victim on his back and load her onto the Starex van.

Earlier on Monday, Gerald Muyot, a security guard of Neptune Bar reiterated his testimony in cross-examination about seeing Smith carrying the drunk and unconscious woman on his back and bringing her to the van. First posted 04:19 pm June 05, 2006 INQ.net Associated Press

Nov. 6, van driver Timoteo Serrano Jr. plans to recant his testimony, claiming it was made under duress. He said one of the soldiers had sex with the woman while he was driving. The woman was dropped off after 15 minutes. The Philippine Star Nov. 06, 2005

Suzette, Smith and four other US servicemen came out of the bar, walked to his van, and asked him to drive them. Asked if she was drunk, he said in Filipino she was walking straight when she left the bar. As they were getting off, one of the soldiers said I’m done. The four Americans got off first. Then I saw the girl’s trousers were down but she was still wearing her shirt. The Americans helped her draw up her pants and then they all left the van. Asked if she was crying, Soriano said she was not. Published on page A2 of the Nov. 13, 2005, Philippine Daily Inquirer

Subic van driver says there was no rape. There was no truth to the claim that Smith carried Suzette on his back from Neptune Club’s door and loaded her into the van. She got into the van willingly when I opened the door. However, it was true she was left in the club’s parking lot with her pants pulled down after she was carried out of the van. The Philippine Star December 1, 2006

A few hours later, witnesses said they saw the woman being dumped unconscious from a van on a road, the SBMA administrator Armand Arreza told INQ7.net in a phone interview Friday. INQ7.net First posted 02:25 pm Nov. 04, 2005

Maria Fe Castro said in her sworn statement that she personally saw two of the apparently drunk US Marines carrying the panty-clad victim like a pig and dropped her body from the van to a grassy portion of the Subic Bay Freeport’s parking lot along Waterfront Road. Sunstar November 24, 2005

The woman went with the Marines to the van that fetched them. She was not forced into the van, as reports indicated. The alleged victim’s sister, who had another US serviceman for a boyfriend, tried to prevent her from going with the group; but she was adamant. How could those Marines think of gang-raping the woman when they were so worried about getting back to their ship to beat the curfew? By Ramon Tulfo First posted 00:47 am, May 2, 2006 Inquirer Published on page A18 Philippine Daily Inquirer

Khonghun and his group were standing at the seawall, about 15 to 10 meters away from the parking lot, when they saw a dark colored Starex van stop behind his van. He saw an African-American, whom he later identified as Duplantis, walk out of the van a bit wobbly. The man walked to the curb and sat there. Another man, later identified as Silkwood, alighted next. A bottle of beer was in his hand. He then emptied the bottle and threw it on the pavement. He then returned to the van and I saw him holding both legs of a person. The other end of the woman was supported by another Caucasian later identified as Smith. In grilling Khonghun, defense wondered why she made no mention of rape in encountering apparently the first person to find her after she had been dumped by her alleged abusers. First posted 03:37 am Published on page A1 of June 9, 2006 Philippine Daily Inquirer

Van driver Timoteo Soriano has also submitted a sworn statement corroborating the victim’s claims that she was forcibly taken by the six servicemen. Manila Standard Today November 7, 2005

The victim added: “Tinanong niya po ako kung okey daw po kaming lumabas sa Neptune Club dahil mainit daw po sa loob,” she stated, but declined the offer. “Sabi ko ay ayaw ko po dahil hinihintay ko pa po ang kapatid ko. Pinilit po ako nilang lumabas.”

The victim said she didn’t see the identification (ID)s of suspects because the place was dark. She remembered boarding a vehicle. “Isinakay po ako sa sasakyan, pinaghahalikan ako, hinipuan sa maseselan na parte ng katawan, hinubad po ang aking suot at pwersahang ginahasa, samantalang ako’y naglalaban at sumisigaw. Naririnig ko po ang kanyang mga kasamahan na tuwang-tuwa.”

Translation: by Liz
The victims added: “He asked me if they can step out because it is so warm here inside the Neptune Club,” she stated, but declined the offer. “ I said, no, I am waiting for my sister. They drag me out.” (Drag: to cause, persuade, or force somebody to stop doing something or leave a place unwillingly).

The victim said she didn’t see the identifications (IDs) of the suspects because the place was dark. She remembered boarding a vehicle. “ I was loaded into the vehicle, he started to kiss me, groped my private parts, undressed me and forcibly raped me. While I was fighting him off and screaming. I am hearing his friends cheering. Malou Dungog Manila Standard Today November 28, 2005

Yesterday, the mother of the rape victim had accused the six servicemen of forcing her into a rented van where she was raped on Nov. 1. Manila Standard Today November 10, 2005

Was she carried out of the van like a pig again or simply got off the van? How many men? Two or three?

Noel Aguas Paule, a bike patrol officer, said he found the woman in a parking lot near the Telecoms Bldg. along Waterfront Rd at around 12:15 am Nov. 2. She was crying and apparently hardly drunk who was being attended to by 8 other people. When he came closer and tried to talk to her, she embraced him and asked him not to leave her. (Jaime Avila Jr.)

Feliciano Salonga, chair of the SBMA told GMA television news that the woman was hysterical…without clothes on except a pair of panties. It was obvious that she was intoxicated and incoherent. We gave her a pair of pants to cover herself. Dated Nov. 5, 2005 published on Page A1, Philippine Daily
Inquirer.

The driver of the van claimed he was punched twice by a police officer who wanted him to say that he had witnessed a gang rape. (Paquito Torres SBMA administrator). Suzette and Smith were drinking and hugging and doing the dirty dance on the dance floor. Suzette, Smith and four other US servicemen came out of the bar, walked to his van, and asked him to drive them. Asked if she was drunk, he said in Filipino she was walking straight when she left the bar. As they were getting off, one of the soldiers said I’m done. The four Americans got off first. Then I saw the girl’s trousers were down but she was still wearing her shirt. The Americans helped her draw up her pants and then they all left the van. Asked if she was crying, Soriano said she was not. Published on page A2 of the Nov. 13, 2005, Philippine Daily Inquirer

Subic van driver says there was no rape. There was no truth to the claim that Smith carried Suzette on his back from Neptune Club’s door and loaded her into the van. She got into the van willingly when I opened the door. However, it was true she was left in the club’s parking lot with her pants pulled down after she was carried out of the van. It is also not true that she got very drunk after consuming various alcoholic beverages inside the Neptune Club. She had take alcohol but she was not passed out drunk. She spoke but I could not understand everything she said. The radio was playing but the music was not so loud. The radio was playing but we could still understand each other inside the vehicle. They were in the back and I didn’t hear everything they said. They spoke of different thing but she never once shouted from the back. The Philippine Star December 1, 2006

Maria Fe Castro said in her sworn statement that she personally saw two of the apparently drunk US Marines carrying the panty-clad victim like a pig and dropped her body from the van to a grassy portion of the Subic Bay Freeport’s parking lot along Waterfront Road. Sunstar November 24, 2005

Nov. 6, van driver Timoteo Serrano Jr. plans to recant his testimony, claiming it was made under duress. He said one of the soldiers had sex with the woman while he was driving. The woman was dropped off after 15 minutes. Serrano was told to sign a blank sheet of paper, on which his testimony was then typed out. One of the police officer allegedly threatened him when he hesitated to sign the paper.

Defense notes ‘Nicole’s’ jeans, panties not torn

First posted 06:03:44 (Mla time) 2006-06-23
Volt Contreras Tarra Quismundo
Inquirer

DEFENSE lawyers in the Subic rape case yesterday focused on the lack of any tears — which could indicate a struggle — in the underwear and denim jeans that the complainant “Nicole” was wearing during the alleged crime.

They also managed to note at the Makati Regional Trial Court hearing that these two articles of clothing had “no seminal stains” when examined by the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory.

The lawyers of the four accused US Marines used the tack in grilling the 15th prosecution witness, Melchor Delequina, the investigator who took photographs of the pieces of evidence at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s Intelligence and Investigation Office (IIO).

It was Delequina who took pictures of Nicole’s panties, jeans, a used condom and its torn foil wrapper, a piece of medicine wrapper found inside the jeans, the Kia Starex van where the alleged rape took place, and the trip ticket issued in hiring the van.

Prosecutors also presented Delequina to further disprove allegations made months before the trial by the van’s Filipino driver, Timoteo Soriano, that IIO Intelligence Division chief Paquito Torres (Delequina’s boss) had coerced him into mentioning “gang rape” in the statement he executed on Nov. 2, 2005, just hours after the alleged crime.

Nicole was not present at the hearing, the first time she missed a court date. Her lawyer, Evalyn Ursua, said she was resting.

The prosecution panel is expected to call to the stand today two members of Nicole’s family — a stepsister who was with her at Subic at the time of the alleged rape, and an elder brother.

Admissions

Francisco Rodrigo, counsel for Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier, made Delequina admit that when he photographed Nicole’s panties and denim jeans, he did not see any tears on either.

That both pieces of clothing apparently had “no stains” when taken off the woman was another admission drawn from the witness, this time by his colleague Benjamin Formoso, counsel for Lance Corporal Daniel Smith.

But it was toward the end of the hearing that Rodrigo read out the PNP crime lab report saying that no stains of semen were found on the clothes.

This was during an exchange on whether there was still a need to call in the expert who had conducted the tests. Otherwise, it was proposed, both sides could just stipulate (or agree) on the report.

The prosecutors said they might have a problem producing such a witness on the matter because the PNP official concerned had gone to the United States on vacation.

The examination was conducted by a medico-legal officer, Chief Inspector Mamerto Bernabe Jr.

Rodrigo was actually daring the prosecution to stipulate on the “no stains” finding, but the prosecutors refused.

Close to 2 hours

The defense lawyers kept the IIO’s Ramon Paje on the witness stand for close to two hours as they attacked both his proficiency in English and investigative skills during cross-examination.

But Paje endured the ordeal and answered every question.

Paje was the IIO officer who translated “lasing na lasing (very drunk)” to mean “hardly intoxicated” in describing Nicole in his investigation report.

He saw the complainant in such a condition when he first met her at the IIO office shortly after the alleged rape.

“Mr. Witness, when I say ‘I could hardly see you,’ would you agree that in Filipino, that means ‘Hindi kita masyadong makita’ or ‘Bahagya lamang kitang nakikita’?” said lawyer Jose Justiniano, counsel for Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood.

Justiniano was testing how the witness understood the term “hardly” in light of his misuse of the adverb in translating “lasing na lasing.”

Hot on the issue

The defense panel had been hot on the mistranslation, believing that Paje in fact meant that Nicole was barely drunk when she was seen minutes after the alleged rape.

If proven, this would derail the prosecution’s line of offense that the complainant was too drunk to have consented to sex.

Nicole had alleged that on Nov. 1 last year, Smith raped her while she was barely conscious at the back of a Starex van cruising the Subic Bay Freeport, as Silkwood, Carpentier and Lance Cpl. Dominic Duplantis egged him on.

“That could be what it means, sir,” said Paje, who testified in Filipino and was assisted by an interpreter throughout his testimony.

“OK. How about if I say ‘I could hardly hear you,’ would you agree that in Filipino, that means ‘Hindi kita masyadong marinig’ or ‘Bahagya lamang kitang naririnig’?” continued Justiniano.

This time, State Prosecutor Hazel Valdez rose to address Makati RTC Branch 139 Judge Benjamin Pozon: “Your Honor, we have to object to this line of questioning on the basis of lack of materiality.”

Justiniano countered that he was “testing the accuracy of the witness.”

‘Di ganong kagaling’

The defense lawyer won the court’s favor and was allowed to go on. But Paje gave him the rebuff.

“Di ako ganong kagaling, as I have already told you, sir,” Paje said in a mix of Filipino and English, raising both arms to emphasize his point.

The courtroom audience laughed at the exchange.

Justiniano had earlier inquired into the investigator’s educational attainment.

“I finished tertiary school at the Ramon Magsaysay University, sir,” Paje said.

“So you said you finished third year college…” Justiniano said, trailing off.

Prosecutors clarified to him that “tertiary” meant college.

Justiniano also asked Paje to affirm if he had understood the English terms he used in his report, including the words “Caucasian,” “assaulted” and “bar-hopping.”

Rodrigo questioned Paje’s handling of evidence, including Nicole’s jeans and panties, and the condom purportedly used by Smith in the alleged rape.

He had testified that Nicole, with the assistance of IIO evidence custodian Genevieve Puno, turned over the jeans and panties, and that he received the used condom from SBMA Law Enforcement Division bike patrol officer Jaime Avila Jr., who retrieved it from the parking lot at Subic’s Alava Pier where the servicemen had allegedly dumped Nicole.

“Did you examine the jeans and pants? Did you notice any tear in the panties or jeans? Were they in a container? Did it not occur to you as an investigator to look at the condition of very important pieces of evidence?” Rodrigo asked Paje in quick succession.

“To preserve the evidence and prevent contaminating them, I did not look at them,” said Paje, who testified that he received Nicole’s clothes in a brown paper bag.

I was raped’ – ‘Nicole’

First posted 21:09:25 (Mla time) 2006-07-14
Tetch Torres
INQ7.net

“I was raped.” But I never told the security guard (at the Neptune Club) that I was raped. I (was) ashamed…”

Her voice rising slightly, this was what the woman who has accused four American servicemen of rape said was allegedly done to her by Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith the night of November 1 last year.

The complainant’s cross examination on Friday, which lasted between 30 to 40 minutes, was the last trip to the witness stand for the woman identified only as “Nicole” after a week of direct testimony often punctuated by emotional outbursts and, at one point, a physical attack on Smith.

It was the 23rd day of the Subic rape trial.

Smith’s lawyer, Patricia Formoso, conducted the cross examination.

Nicole had just said Smith did a “bad thing” to her, which was why she returned to the Neptune Club at the Subic Freeport to look for him in the early hours of November 2, 2005, after the alleged rape.

Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Benjamin Pozon asked her to explain what she meant by “bad thing.”

“I was raped,” Nicole replied. “But I never told the security guard (at the Neptune Club) that I was raped. I (was) ashamed…”

It was in the club that she met Smith, Nicole said in earlier testimony. It was from the bar, too, she said, that Smith dragged her and into a waiting van where the rape allegedly occurred as his fellow Marines and co-accused - Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis, and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier - allegedly cheered him on.

The lawyers of the three other Marines opted not to cross examine Nicole.

It was a calmer Nicole who took the stand on Friday.

Nevertheless, there was one question from Pozon she could not bring herself to answer.

When the judge asked her to describe how Smith touched her breast, she could only look down. When Pozon asked if she could “answer my question,” she admitted she could not because of shame.

She was again asked to enumerate the alcoholic drinks she imbibed from October 30 to November 1. She also reiterated that she could not only partly remember what happened the night of the alleged rape.

In her earlier testimony, Nicole’s account of that night was disjointed. But she remembered enough to identify Smith as the man who danced with her, dragged her out of the club and who she later found on top of her.

Formoso asked her why she agreed to go to Subic with US servicemen Christopher Mills, a family friend, and Carlos Ocacio when she already had a boyfriend, also a Marine like her alleged assailants.

She also questioned Nicole how, if she was already dazed on arriving at the James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital in Olongapo City, she still managed to request her stepsister to ask the doctor if she could urinate before undergoing a medical examination.

After Nicole’s testimony, Silkwood’s lawyer, Jose Justiniano, observed that the complainant “never identified” any of the other accused.

“She said she only heard voices but (did not) know where they (were) coming from,” Justiniano said.

The next hearing of the case is on Monday, when the prosecution will present van driver Timoteo Soriano as a “hostile witness.”

It was Sorinao who drove the rented van where the alleged rape happened. Originally, he told Subic investigators Nicole had been gang-raped only to recant that statement and claim he was forced to make it.

Nicole: ‘Absolute loss of trust’

First posted 03:39:56 (Mla time) 2006-09-21
Volt Contreras
Inquirer

NICOLE, the complainant in the Subic rape case against four US Marines, will file today a formal manifestation before the Makati City Regional Trial Court expressing her “absolute loss of trust” in the government prosecutors handling her case, her private counsel Evalyn Ursua said.

Ursua, in an interview yesterday, said her client planned “to make official and on-record” her continuing disapproval of the Department of Justice panel headed by Senior State Prosecutor Emilie Fe De los Santos.

Despite this announcement, Malacañang said the government would like to see the case through.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita told reporters yesterday that “it was the duty of the Philippine government to continue with the prosecution.”

Nicole and her mother have charged that the lead government prosecutor of urging them to “just settle” with the US Marines accused of raping her while on board a moving van inside the Subic Bay Freeport on Nov. 1, 2005.

They also claimed that De los Santos insinuated that if they didn’t settle, the government may “trade off” the case with that of Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, who is detained in the US and wanted for investigation here of a multi-million farm equipment fund diversion.

Both charges have been denied by De los Santos.

Nicole earlier said she wanted all the public prosecutors relieved except for government lawyer Hazel Valdez.

On Monday, however, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales turned down her request.

Open recriminations followed, with Nicole’s camp calling the DoJ “incompetent,” and De los Santos calling her an “ingrate.” Gonzalez also said in a televised interview that Nicole’s camp was “imagining things,” at the prodding of her “left-leaning backers.”

In another forum, Ursua disclosed that neither she nor Nicole knew about the meetings between Nicole’s family and the lead prosecutor. Nicole’s mother disclosed the meetings after her daughter walked out of her own trial last week.

Public prosecutors should yield to Nicole’s call “out of delicadeza” and “ethics in the legal profession,” she added.

“Among lawyers, when your client tells you that you’re not trusted anymore, you say ‘okay, fine,”’ she explained. “Please, let us not wait for the day when we start calling it a sellout.”

Nicole, Ursua said, will still not attend today’s hearing where the third among the accused, Cpl. Keith Silkwood, is scheduled to testify. She will just file this “simple manifestation” before the Makati trial court of Judge Benjamin Pozon, said Ursua.

In an account of the trial before students of the University of the Philippines in Baguio City on Wednesday, Ursua said Nicole is “on the verge of concluding that the government is out to sabotage her case” in order to protect the country’s relation with the United States.

Should their fears prove to be true, Ursua said their other recourse is to present Nicole’s case before the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, which has taken an interest in the proceedings.

Ursua, in her lecture to the UP-Baguio students, said the prosecutor assigned to cross-examine the court witnesses was frequently absent. She said Nicole was irked when the lead prosecutor handed the cross-examination duties to the subordinate they accused of incompetence, after refusing to allow her (Ursua) to handle that part of the proceedings.

“Kung four days a week ang hearing namin, mabuti nang um-attend siya ng one day. Tapos uupo siya, wala siyang papel; hindi siya nag-ta-take ng notes. Nakaupo siya sa likod namin parang clueless siya sa nangyayari (We would be lucky if he shows up to attend one session out of four in a week. He doesn’t take notes. He sits behind us and appears clueless about the proceedings),” she said.

“I can say this to you because that’s the truth. I swear,” Ursua told the students.

She said allowing a private lawyer to take over from a government prosecutor would be irregular in most cases.

Ursua said Nicole had preferred that government replace all the prosecutors except for government lawyer Hazel Valdez, but she decided on Tuesday night to push for “a clean slate instead.” With reports from Christine O. Avendano, Tarra V. Quismundo, and Vincent Cabreza of Inquirer Northern Luzon

‘Nicole’ forced out of bar, witness told

First posted 09:12:57 (Mla time) 2006-06-20
Volt Contreras Tarra Quismundo
Inquirer

A FEW HOURS after it happened, Nicole told an investigator that American servicemen had forced her out of a nightclub and allegedly raped her in a moving van.

Ramon Paje, the 12th witness for the prosecution, testified that Nicole, when interviewed after receiving medical attention six hours after her alleged rape, claimed that the accused US Marines took her out of a popular nightspot “against her will” before carrying out the crime in a Kia Starex van.

Paje said the 22-year-old Filipino complainant in the Subic rape case remembered being “kissed and her private parts touched (hinipuan),” her pants and underwear being “pulled down,” before being “sexually abused (pinagsamantalahan).”

That Nicole herself claimed that she was forcibly brought out of Neptune Bar inside the Subic Freeport was one version of the incident never before presented in the trial at the Makati Regional Trial Court’s Branch 139.

‘Nicole’ ready to start over, prefers work abroad

Extended legal battle seen as Smith files appeal
By Tetch Torres, Teresa Cerojano
INQ7.net, Associated Press
Last updated 05:59pm (Mla time) 12/05/2006

(UPDATE) A DAY after a local court found a US Marine guilty of rape, his victim said she was ready to start over and that she preferred a job abroad where people did not know her.

At the same time, “Nicole,” a court-appointed pseudonym, said she could only feel “pity” for Lance Corporal Daniel Smith who was convicted Monday before the Makati regional trial court of raping her at the Subic Bay Freeport on Nov. 1, 2005.

She also said that she was bracing for an extended legal battle after Smith appealed his conviction and 40-year sentence.

“Nicole” told a press conference that she was ready to start over.

“I’d like to find a job preferably abroad where people have no idea what happened to me,” “Nicole” said.

Although “Nicole” had not decided what country she would go to, she kidded that she hoped that the US won’t deny her a visa if she would apply for one.

Doc says ‘Nicole’ lacked injuries of abuse victim

First posted 04:13:35 (Mla time) 2006-09-19
Tarra Quismundo
Inquirer

LAWYERS defending four American Marines in the Subic rape trial yesterday presented an expert witness who testified that complainant “Nicole” did not display injuries common to victims of sexual abuse.

Called to the stand, Dr. Teresita Sanchez, an obstetrician-gynecologist, told a Makati Regional Trial Court that bruises found on the arms, legs and genital area of Nicole were inconsistent with her accusations of rape against the US Marines.

Nicole had accused Lance Corporal Daniel Smith of raping her while she was dead drunk in the back of a moving Kia Starex van around 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 1, 2005, as his co-accused — Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier — cheered him on.

Smith took the stand last week and testified that he and Nicole had consensual sex in the van.

“This is an alleged victim of rape but I do not find any injury significant to suggest that there was rape or anything forced on the person … based on the absence of injuries in the inner thighs and inner knees,” Sanchez told the court.

Sanchez, who trained in forensics and toxicology, was supposed to take the stand on Friday after qualifying as an expert witness the previous day.

The public prosecutors, however, had sought a postponement because of their rift with Nicole and her mother, who had accused the state panel of being incompetent and of colluding with the defense to give up the case.

No injuries there

When Sanchez finally took the stand yesterday, she told the court that rape victims usually sustained contusions on their inner thighs and knees because of the forced spreading of their legs — injuries not found on Nicole.

Under the direct examination of Ricardo Diaz, Smith’s counsel, the doctor said she based her opinion on her own experience and widely used literature on the matter, copies of which she brought to court.

Diaz questioned Sanchez on whether such injuries could have been inflicted during a sexual assault on someone who was very drunk, as Nicole supposedly was, on the night of the alleged rape.

“Also from experience, a person who is not cooperative or is dead drunk would be in a condition like that of a person under anesthesia. She would certainly have heavy legs and one would definitely use force to separate the legs,” Sanchez said.

Diaz asked Sanchez to give her assessment by referring to the results of Nicole’s medical examination at the James Gordon Memorial Hospital in Olongapo City, 33 hours after the alleged rape.

Rebuttal

The examining doctor, Dr. Rolando Ortiz II, found that Nicole sustained contusions on her right wrist, her upper left arm, her legs and her genital area.

When he testified for the prosecution, Ortiz told the court that the injuries were consistent with rape, an analysis seconded by Dr. Raquel Fortun, an expert witness who also took the stand for the prosecution.

Sanchez, however, gave testimony rebutting the two doctors. She told the court that contusions in the genital area could occur both in consensual and forced intercourse.

When Diaz asked whether contusions could occur during consensual intercourse in a confined space such as a Starex van, Sanchez answered: “That will be very difficult … It may cause contusions and there is literature and documented cases which [say contusions] can appear both in consensual and nonconsensual sex.”

She added: “In consensual sex, contusions are not only possible, it’s probable.”

Diaz also sought the doctor’s expertise in Ortiz’s findings of deep and healed lacerated injuries in the genitalia, as a medico-legal examination had found on Nicole. Sanchez said the lacerations could have occurred because of “previous intercourse, maybe of one, two, three or more.”

“Persons?” Diaz asked.

Amid laughter from the gallery, Sanchez told Diaz that she was simply referring to the number of previous sexual encounters of a person found to have such injuries. She, however, said such injuries could have been sustained in instances other than a sexual act, such as an accident.

Diaz attempted to elicit testimony from Sanchez about a possible link between infections and lacerations in the outer genitalia — another way to debunk the allegation that the injuries were caused by forced sex.

State Prosecutor Hazel Valdez rose to object and told the court that the medico-legal examination never mentioned any infection.

Dangerous levels

“The witness was called upon to render opinion on facts already established … We could not allow the witness to speculate and then render an opinion on that speculation. That is utterly improper,” Valdez said.

Diaz later withdrew from this line of questioning.

He decided to probe Sanchez’s knowledge of toxicology and asked about the possible condition of a person with a blood alcohol level between 300 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) and 400 mg/dL.

“At that stage, the person should already be stuporous,” Sanchez said.

A blood alcohol level between 400 mg/dL and 500 mg/dL is “a very dangerous situation to be in. That should be considered an emergency because you can lapse into a coma or even die,” she added.

Too drunk for sex

Another expert witness for the prosecution, Dr. Kenneth Go, a medical toxicologist from the Philippine General Hospital, approximated that Nicole had a blood alcohol level of 445.2 mg/dL.

He based his computation on witnesses’ accounts of the drinks Nicole had at the Neptune Club, the Subic nightspot where she and Smith met shortly before the alleged rape.

Go also made the approximation based on testimony on Nicole’s demeanor after several drinks at the bar.

The doctor’s testimony supported the prosecution’s allegation that Nicole was too drunk to have consented to sex at the time of the incident.

When Diaz finished his direct examination, the prosecution asked the court for more time to prepare for their cross-examination.

Sanchez was scheduled to return on Monday to undergo the prosecution’s questioning.

Carpentier was scheduled to take the stand today, followed by Silkwood on Thursday and Duplantis on Friday, their lawyers said.

0.02 — 0.03 BAC: No loss of coordination, slight euphoria and loss of shyness. Depressant effects are not apparent. Mildly relaxed and maybe a little lightheaded.

0.04 — 0.06 BAC: Feeling of well-being, relaxation, lower inhibitions, sensation of warmth. Euphoria. Some minor impairment of reasoning and memory, lowering of caution. Your behavior may become exaggerated and emotions intensified (Good emotions are better, bad emotions are worse)

0.07 — 0.09 BAC: Slight impairment of balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing. Euphoria. Judgment and self-control are reduced, and caution, reason and memory are impaired (in some* states .08 is legally impaired and it is illegal to drive at this level). You will probably believe that you are functioning better than you really are. ( * —As of July, 2004 ALL states had passed .08 BAC Per Se Laws. The final one took effect in August of 2005.)

0.10 — 0.125 BAC: Significant impairment of motor coordination and loss of good judgment. Speech may be slurred; balance, vision, reaction time and hearing will be impaired. Euphoria. It is illegal to operate a motor vehicle at this level of intoxication in all states.

0.13 — 0.15 BAC: Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control. Blurred vision and major loss of balance. Euphoria is reduced and dysphoria* is beginning to appear. Judgment and perception are severely impaired.
( * —Dysphoria: An emotional state of anxiety, depression, or unease.)

0.16 — 0.19 BAC: Dysphoria predominates, nausea may appear. The drinker has the appearance of a “sloppy drunk.”

0.20 BAC: Feeling dazed/confused or otherwise disoriented. May need help to stand/walk. If you injure yourself you may not feel the pain. Some people have nausea and vomiting at this level. The gag reflex is impaired and you can choke if you do vomit. Blackouts are likely at this level so you may not remember what has happened.

0.25 BAC: All mental, physical and sensory functions are severely impaired. Increased risk of asphyxiation from choking on vomit and of seriously injuring yourself by falls or other accidents.

0.30 BAC: STUPOR. You have little comprehension of where you are. You may pass out suddenly and be difficult to awaken.

0.35 BAC: Coma is possible. This is the level of surgical anesthesia.

0.40 BAC and up: Onset of coma, and possible death due to respiratory arrest.

FACTOID: Unbelted occupants account for 84% of impaired driving fatalities in Oklahoma (and 84% of impaired driving fatalities, nationwide). Fasten those seat belts! (NHTSA statistics)

US Marine details sex act
First posted 02:20:18 (Mla time) 2006-09-12
Tarra Quismundo Volt Contreras
Inquirer

THE 21-YEAR-OLD US Marine accused of raping a Filipino woman in a van last year told a Makati court that the sex was consensual, with “Nicole,” the complainant’s pseudonym, helping him put on a condom.
Lance Corporal Daniel Smith took the stand as the first witness for the defense yesterday and denied doing anything against Nicole’s will on Nov. 1, 2005, the night of the alleged rape — from the passionate kisses to the consummation of the sexual act.
“When the van started moving, we started kissing kinda passionately … Then she kinda had her hands on my back and she started leaning to the window and started pulling me towards [her] … I kinda asked jokingly: ‘Are you trying to have sex right here?’ She said yes, and I was kinda surprised for a second,” Smith told the court yesterday.
Smith said the complainant even helped him put on a condom. He told the court that Nicole took a willing and receptive position that allowed the two of them to consummate the act despite the van’s tight space.
“I couldn’t really do it on my own without [Nicole] positioning herself,” Smith said.
When asked if he thought Nicole liked him, he said: “She did seem to like me as well … by the way we were talking, dancing, and we had sex at the end of the night so…”
The woman sat quietly while Smith spoke.
After a three-week break, the trial resumed yesterday at the sala of Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 139 Judge Benjamin Pozon.
Different story
Smith said that before leaving Nicole, he told her to return the next day to the bar where they had met if she wanted to spend more time with him.
He was surprised when, before dawn on Nov. 3, agent Guy Papageorge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) questioned him about his involvement in an alleged rape on the night he and Nicole had sex.
“I was told I was being accused of rape. I still had no idea where that was coming from and I was told that it was the girl I had sex with the other night,” Smith said.
The 22-year-old complainant had testified that Smith forced himself on her while she lay dead drunk in the van’s back seat as it cruised around Subic Bay Freeport around 11:30 on Nov. 1 last year.
She further alleged that the other accused, Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier and Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis, cheered Smith on during the alleged rape.
Not drunk
Smith, however, had a different story and, under direct examination by lawyer Ricardo Diaz, depicted Nicole as being fully coherent from the time they met at Subic’s Neptune Club until they parted ways at the pier.
Not once during his hourlong testimony did Smith mention that Nicole was drunk as she had claimed.
He said he introduced himself as Dan, as he always did. He could not remember though how Nicole introduced herself as “she spoke in a different dialect.”
When he asked if Nicole would like to come sit with him at his table, she obliged. Then the two exchanged words and they started to dance.
Giggling, kissing
“We kinda just flirted there and she asked if she could kiss me. I said yes, then we kissed each other … After we were done, we just playfully giggled because there were many people around and we were there kissing,” Smith said.
Between 11:20 and 11:30 p.m., Smith said Carpentier arrived and began rounding up the Marines at the bar so they could log back in at the ship in time for their curfew at midnight.
“I told [Nicole] that I had to be back on the ship at 12 … that I had to go … She seemed kinda disappointed and asked me if I could stay a little longer. She was kinda upset about me leaving,” Smith said.
“She appeared like she was by herself so I asked her if she’d like to go for a short ride back to the pier,” he continued.
Smith said that Nicole agreed. “I opened the door and she stepped in [the van]. She sat down in the back seat. I was directly behind her and I sat beside her,” he said.
There was “pretty minimal conversation” before they started kissing again, this time “passionately.” Then the consensual act began, Smith said.
He described Nicole as a willing partner during the intercourse.
“Some three minutes after we started, the van came to a stop. When I looked up, I saw that we had stopped by a pizza place and other people needed a ride,” Smith said.
He said the van picked up two other Marines, namely, Corey Burris and Albert Lara, both of whom were also investigated in Nicole’s allegations of rape. They were, however, never charged.
Offensive remark
At that point, Smith said he stopped “because there wasn’t enough time.”
When asked what Nicole’s reaction was, Smith said: “She asked ‘Are you already done?’ Then I looked around [because] that’s kinda an embarrassing thing to hear when you’re having sex.”
The two of them put their clothes back on. A few minutes later, the van arrived at its final stop by the pier.
Before Nicole could get out of the van though, somebody shouted: “Hurry up, you and your bitch get outta here.”
Nicole became hysterical, Smith said. “Her mood completely, drastically changed. She screamed, ‘I’m not a bitch! I’m not a bitch!’ I tried to calm her down.”
He also said the complainant had her pants back on when she left the van and sat at the curb. He tried to get a cab for her, but as he was trying to beat his curfew, he told Nicole that she should just “find her own way” and that they could meet the next day at Neptune Club.
Smith said he returned to the bar the following night and looked for Nicole, but did not see her.
Misquoted
Filing out of the courtroom after his four-hour testimony, Smith received a handshake and an assurance that he did “very good” from Fr. James Reuter, who has been a spiritual adviser to the accused US Marines.
The prominent priest was among the American members of the audience who came to hear Smith’s testimony at the resumption of the historic trial yesterday.
For its next witness, the defense plans to present another US Marine today whom they identified as Lance Cpl. Justin Michael Bamberger.
Public prosecutor Nolibien Quiambao confronted Smith with the record of his Nov. 3, 2005 “interrogation” by the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service, but the Marine cited “a lot of statements that were misquoted” by the interviewing NCIS agent, Guy Papageorge.
It was Papageorge, Smith claimed, who used the phrase “cheered on” in one question related to the soldier’s behavior; he himself never used that phrase in his answer. With reports from Reuters and Associated Press

US Marine says ‘Nicole’ a professional, not a victim First posted 02:56:12 (Mla time) 2006-09-20 Tarra Quismundo Inquirer
ONE OF THE FOUR US MARINES on trial in the Subic rape case yesterday took the stand and said that he saw the Filipino complainant as “a professional” rather than a victim. Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier testified that while he had the “moral conscience” to assist any woman in danger, he felt that “Nicole” did not need any help when she got off a rented van in partial undress on the night of Nov. 1, 2005. “You are assuming that I viewed [the complainant] as a victim. I viewed her as a professional preying on the vulnerability of [Lance Cpl. Daniel] Smith at the time,” Carpentier said under State Prosecutor Elizabeth Berdal’s cross-examination at Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 139. Berdal later said in an interview after the hearing: “We have shown his being judgmental and prejudiced toward Filipino women.” Earlier in his testimony, when the prosecutor asked him about his moral conscience, Carpentier said: “First of all, I am a father of a daughter myself, so at any time I felt a female was in harm’s way, you could bet your bottom dollar that [I would help her].” The 28-year-old Marine revealed what he thought of Nicole in reply to Berdal’s question on why he, the most senior of the Marines in the van, “did not lift a finger” to help the complainant upon seeing her “in a state of undress” on the night of the purported rape. Nicole had accused Smith of raping her while she was drunk in the moving van at the Subic Bay Freeport as Carpentier, Smith’s superior, and two other lance corporals, Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis, egged him on. Prosecution witnesses testified to seeing Nicole being carried out of the van and left on the road “like a pig” by two Americans, her pants on front side back but pulled down to her knees, and a used condom dangling from the garter of her panties. Smith denied this account when he was presented as the first defense witness last week and testified that he and Nicole had consensual sex. He said the sex act ended after about three minutes because he and his comrades had to rush back to their ship, the USS Essex, to beat their midnight curfew. While Carpentier told the court that he did not actually see what was happening in the van’s back seat, his testimony backed Smith’s narration that Nicole got off the van on her own, and that she was coherent throughout the time she was in the vehicle. In questioning Carpentier, Berdal pointed out that, unlike his co-accused who had to be back on their ship at midnight, he had until 2 a.m. to enjoy liberty (the time given to servicemen for rest and recreation). Berdal: “Since your curfew was at 2 a.m. and you still had time, didn’t you extend assistance to a girl in a partial state of undress in an open area?” Carpentier: “No, ma’am.” Berdal: “Is that what they teach you at the Marines?” Carpentier’s counsel, Francisco Rodrigo, raised an objection, and Berdal withdrew the question.
Ashamed
When Rodrigo asked him later if Nicole had sought his help after alighting from the van, Carpentier said no. He also readily answered Berdal when she asked why Nicole would accuse him of rape. “She was ashamed and embarrassed of her conduct that evening, and due to the fact that casual observers came up with their own conspiracy inside the van, she was embarrassed and decided to [go along],” Carpentier said. He also described the complainant as being “aggressively flirtatious” while seated on Smith’s lap inside the Neptune Club, the Subic nightspot where the two met. Later upon questioning by Judge Benjamin Pozon, Carpentier elaborated on what he thought of Nicole at the time of the alleged crime. “I was shocked and offended that she would conduct herself that way at the back of the van. I can’t say for sure what she did, but at least it involved removing her pants. She could’ve either been trying on a new pair of pants or having sex,” he said, adding later that he was “kinda appalled and felt disrespected by [Nicole’s] conduct.” When Pozon asked if Marines were briefed on “the girls they could expect to meet” on foreign shores, Carpentier said: “I have extensive world travel and I know that women like to loiter around areas where there are military men.” He later said only “a small percentage” of women exhibiting such behavior were “out there” but that he did not have this judgment on all the women he met.
First night out
On direct examination, Carpentier testified that on the night of the alleged rape, he left the USS Essex at around 10:40 p.m. with Gunnery Sgt. Paul Taylor as his liberty buddy. This was how he recounted what transpired: Carpentier and Taylor boarded the van that the Marines had hired for the use of Essex personnel during their stay at the freeport. Filipino driver Timoteo Soriano Jr. was behind the wheel. It was Carpentier’s first night out at the port, so he left it to Soriano to look for a place where he and Taylor could eat. After two attempts, they found an open restaurant –Aresi’s — and had dinner there. Because he knew that a large group of the platoon under his supervision was out, Carpentier called Cpl. Corey Burris to check on everyone and to give notice that he would pick them up when he and Taylor had finished with dinner. Burris told him that many of the younger Marines who had to be back on their ship by midnight were at the Neptune.
At the bar
This was how Carpentier described what happened next: He dropped Taylor off at a hotel in the freeport because the latter wanted to freshen up. At around 11:30 p.m., Soriano drove Carpentier to the Neptune, where he saw Silkwood, Duplantis and Smith with a woman seated on Smith’s lap. Carpentier began rounding up the Marines. Moments later, he walked out of the bar and saw the three Marines and the Filipino woman — whom he later confirmed to be the complainant — standing by the locked van. Carpentier said he had to go back inside to look for Soriano. Burris and his buddy, Lance Cpl. Albert Lara (two Marines initially investigated for Nicole’s allegations but who were not charged), were also due at the Essex at midnight. When Carpentier could not find them, he told Soriano it was time to go.
In the van
While Carpentier testified that he did not see the exact order of how the passengers boarded the van, he said Smith and Nicole were seated in the back seat, Silkwood and Duplantis were in the row in front of them, and he in the front passenger seat. He proceeded with his account: As the van began to move, a security guard approached to ask for a tip, and another security guard spoke to Soriano to “offer us (Marines) females.” Carpentier refused the offer and told Soriano to go on driving. When he saw a group of US servicemen at a pizza place along the way, Carpentier told Soriano to slow down so he could look for Lara and Burris. He spotted them in the crowd, told Soriano to pull over, and chided Burris for taking off earlier. Lara and Burris did not get in the van. Carpentier challenged them “to beat me back to the ship.” The trip to the Alava Pier, where the Essex was docked, took 10-15 minutes.
Inattentive
When asked by Berdal if he saw what Smith and Nicole were doing in the back seat during the ride to the pier, Carpentier said: “I wasn’t paying minor attention to that. My focus was curfew, not Filipino girl.” Asked why he allowed a civilian woman to board the military-leased van, he said: “At the time, I couldn’t tell that it would turn into this big fiasco. I didn’t see it was a big deal. I didn’t really want to deal with the separation of lovers.”

US Marines deny raping woman at Subic Bay
First posted 09:08:24 (Mla time) 2005-11-30
Tonette Orejas Ansbert Joaquin Allan Macatuno
Inquirer News Service

OLONGAPO CITY-FOR THE first time, five of the six American Marines accused of raping a Filipino woman on Nov. 1 in Subic have denied the charge.
“No such crime occurred. At no instance, in any point in time, did I have sex, forcibly or otherwise, with [the woman],” said Staff Sgt. Chad Brian Carpentier, 27, in his 10-page counter-affidavit filed yesterday by his lawyer Francisco Rodrigo Jr.
Corporal Corey Burris and Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis, Keith Silkwood and Albert Lara also filed their affidavits yesterday through their lawyers Emmanuel Pe§a, John Coluso and Jose Justiniano, respectively.
Like Carpentier, the four servicemen denied raping the woman. All asked the Olongapo prosecutor’s office to dismiss the complaint.
It was the first time since the alleged rape that the five servicemen issued official statements. They are being held by the US Embassy.
Benjamin Formoso, counsel for the sixth Marine, Daniel Smith, said he did not file Smith’s affidavit because the evidence from the woman’s lawyers were being filed on “a piecemeal basis.”
According to Filipino driver Timoteo Soriano Jr., another accused, it was Smith whom his colleagues were prodding to abuse the woman.
Olongapo City Prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni gave Soriano’s lawyer, Raul Paras, until Dec. 9 to file the driver’s counter-affidavit.
The lawyers of the respondents and the complainant have until Dec. 14 to file their memoranda on the case. Jalandoni and Assistant Prosecutor Raymond Viray need these documents before issuing a resolution on the complaint.
Carpentier’s account
Carpentier, the oldest and most senior in rank of the accused, said in his affidavit that at about 9:50 p.m. on Nov. 1, he left the USS Essex with Gunnery Sgt. Paul Taylor to look for something to eat.
He said he and Taylor rode in a dark green nine-passenger van provided by the US Marine Corps for their transportation that was driven by Soriano.
Carpentier said he was going around the Subic port to make sure that everyone in his platoon was back at the ship by curfew.
“I continued to round up the members of my platoon and steered them to the van. When I finally got to the van, I saw Silkwood and Duplantis there. The driver, Soriano, however, could not be found. As I turned around toward the club to find him, I saw Soriano come out of the club. It was then that I noticed Smith with the Filipino girl that was with him,” Carpentier said.
‘No force’
When they reached the front gate of the wharf leading to the ship, he said the van stopped right at the gate.
He added: “I disembarked from the van and whipped open the doors yelling, ‘Let’s go, let’s go!’ As the men were getting out, I noticed the Filipino girl was also getting out of the van. I vaguely recall someone saying, ‘Say goodbye to your bitch,’ to which the Filipino girl replied, ‘I am not a bitch. Don’t say that.’”
Carpentier said he was back at the ship at around 1 a.m.
He said the woman’s claim that she had been sexually abused by only one US soldier negated her charge that she was gang-raped.
He also said the woman “voluntarily boarded the van with Smith.”
Carpentier denied that the woman was carried out of the van and dumped on the sidewalk like a pig.
“The circumstances alleged are implausible under the circumstances considering that the place where the complainant was supposed to have been dumped like a pig was very lit and there was a good number of US Marines and locals in the area,” he said.
In his own counter-affidavit, Burris said that about 8 p.m. on Nov. 1, he left the USS Essex with Lara, his designated buddy.
He said he danced and hung out with Lara at Dewey’s Club at around 9 p.m., and proceeded to Neptune Bar where they saw Silkwood, Smith and Duplantis.
At 11:30 p.m., Burris said, Carpentier arrived at the bar with Soriano.
They went back to their ship, buying a pizza along the way, Burris said. The lawyers presented the receipt for their pizza as proof.
Burris said that he and Lara ran back to their ship at around 11:55 p.m., and that at about midnight, both of them officially signed in.
‘Not drunk’
Duplantis said that on Nov. 1, he was with Smith and Silkwood when he went to Dewey’s Bar.
He said he joined a separate group of Marines and sang and danced with some Filipino girls.
“I recall Smith, Burris, Lara and several others from the ship. I was not drunk though I did have about four [bottles of] beer,” he said.
At about 10 p.m., he said, he, along with Smith and Silkwood, took a cab to Neptune.
They “danced and stayed” at Neptune until 11:30 p.m., “when Carpentier arrived and began rounding us up in order to make curfew,” he said, adding:
“When I got into the van, I saw Smith in the back seat with a Filipino girl, whom I later found out to be the complainant. Silkwood sat in the middle seat behind the driver and Carpentier who were in the front seat. I sat in the middle seat beside Silkwood.”
Duplantis said that when he got into the van, Smith and the woman were “kissing, giggling and fooling around.”
“I had never seen the complainant before and she appeared alert, talkative and not distressed,” he said.
He added that he did not hear any disturbance, arguing or complaining from Smith or the woman.
Silkwood also denied raping the woman or witnessing a gang rape.
He said the statements of the woman and the witnesses were “lies and half-truths, meant to prop up and strengthen the fabricated charges” against him

Timeline: Subic rape case, Nov 3, 2005 - Dec 4, 2006
12/04/2006 | 09:43 AM
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ByGMA News Research

What follows is a timeline of the Subic rape case trial based on public and published record testimonies of the witnesses for the defense and prosecution.

SOURCES:
GMA News, GMANews.tv, criminal complaint, INQ7, Inquirer, Supreme Court PIO, Sun*Star, Manila Standard, Philippine Headline News Online

November 3, 2005

* A 22-year-old complainant (later referred to by the media as “Nicole”) filed before the Olongapo City prosecutor’s office a criminal complaint for gang rape against US military servicemen Chad Carpentier, Daniel Smith, Corey Burris, Albert Lara, Keith Silkwood, and another unknown suspect, all from USS Essex.

The crime allegedly occurred in Subic on November 1, 2005.

* The United States Embassy in Manila issued a statement saying the “U.S. takes reports of violations of U.S. and Philippine law by U.S. military personnel very seriously, and will fully cooperate with the Philippine authorities in the investigation of this incident.”

November 7, 2005

* Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye gave the assurance that there will be no whitewash in the investigation of six US servicemen allegedly involved in the gang-rape of a young Filipina at the Subic Bay Freeport.

* Timoteo Soriano, driver of the Starex van where members of the US Marines allegedly raped the complainant, retracted his earlier sworn statement accusing the suspects of gang rape. He said the police pressured him to say gang rape in his sworn statement.

November 8, 2005

* Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Rafael Seguis, accompanied by Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño, handed over to the US embassy subpoenas against Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Corey Burris, Chad Carpentier and Dominic Duplantis.

* Nicole, who was at the custody of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, received her summons through its legal department.

November 9, 2005

* Nicole’s mother, accompanied by one of her brothers, appeared on GMA 7’s “24 Oras” to ask for justice for her daughter. She asked GMA-7 to show her face on television. “Ako na po mismo ang naglakas-loob na lumantad kasi para sa anak ko. Buhay ng anak ko kaya ipaglalaban ko para malaman ng tao kung ano ang pinagdaanan ng anak ko kung paano siya ginahasa,” she said. She stressed that her daughter is not a sex worker, that she has a decent job and that she just on vacation in Subic. She vowed to fight for justice and asked the for the president’s help.

* Gabriela Party-list Rep. Liza Maza filed a resolution urging President Arroyo to “uphold the dignity of Filipino women” by asserting the Philippine jurisdiction and custody of the suspects. The resolution also urges the President to stop all joint military exercises between the US and the Philippines until the rape case is resolved.

* A senior SBMA official said the American suspects had made “unofficial requests” for their transfer to Okinawa. The Embassy later denied this.

November 10, 2005

* Undersecretary Zosimo Jesus Paredes, together with three other staff of the VFA Commission met with the six US servicemen who are facing charges of rape.

November 11, 2005

* GMA-7 reported that lawyer Katrina Legarda will handle Nicole’s case.

November 14, 2005

* Businessman Joseph Khonghun, brother of Subic Mayor Jeffrey Khonghun, surfaced to dispute the driver’s statement. Khonghun said the driver was not coerced to execute his earlier statement.

November 15, 2005

* Senator Rodolfo Biazon asserted that the suspects should be under the custody of the Philippine government.

* Atty. Katrina Legarda, lawyer of the complainant, sent a letter to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez asking for a transfer of venue of the preliminary investigation from Subic to Manila. Legarda expressed her apprehension that the case might be dismissed by Olongapo prosecutors, citing “previous experience” in which they had dropped rape and other sexual abuse cases.

November 16, 2005

* Atty. Legarda accused Sec. Gonzalez of protecting the American suspects by ordering them to be placed under the US Embassy immediately upon its request. Gonzalez denied this: “She’s lying! I told SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator Calimlim to hold these people for inquest. Why did Calimlim release the Americans without a written request from the US? That may be the lapse,” Gonzalez said.

November 17, 2005

* The lawyers of suspects Lance Corporal Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood filed a motion for extension of time to submit affidavit.

November 18, 2005

* The Olongapo Prosecutor’s Office rejected the suspects’ petition to extend the deadline for submitting their counter-affidavits.

November 23, 2005

Preliminary investigation at the Olongapo City Hall of Justice

* Both Nicole and the accused were not present. Katrina Legarda, lead counsel for the complainant, was not there also.

* The complainant’s lawyers were an all-woman team in black suits. The suspects’ lawyers were all men wearing barong.

* Only three witnesses were present: SBMA security officer Noel Paule, security guards Gerald Muyot and Tomas Corpuz Jr of Neptune Bar and Restaurant where the woman and the soldiers had met.

* The prosecutor submitted the supplemental affidavit of Fe Castro, one of the witnesses who saw Nicole when the suspects unloaded her from the Starex van.

* The lawyers of Lara and Burris said they have witnesses who could prove their clients were not in the van when the crime happened.

* Militants held a day-long rally outside the city hall of justice.

November 24, 2005

* Olongapo City Prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni declared that the driver of the Starex van is already a suspect.

November 25, 2005

* Nicole’s lawyers filed a motion to compel the suspects to undergo DNA testing.

November 29, 2005

Second Preliminary investigation at the Olongapo City Hall of Justice

* All the accused, except for Smith, submitted their counter affidavits. They denied raping the victim.

* Atty. Legarda was irked when she found out that the counter affidavits were sworn in Manila. She said when her client asked that her affidavit be sworn in Manila, the DOJ did not allow it: “I feel threatened with the DOJ secretary. He has not granted anything that we have asked before. From passports, to IDs, to having custody of the American servicemen when all of this is in accordance with the treaty. I don’t know where a Filipina can go to when the secretary isn’t there to help,” she said.

* Jalandoni denied the motion requiring the suspects to undergo DNA tests. He said the preliminary investigations did not yet require “evidenciary matter.”

December 5, 2006

* GMA News got hold of a copy of the initial results of the investigation conducted by the US Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS). The document contained Smith’s admission that he had consensual sex with Nicole.

December 9, 2005

* Last preliminary hearing of the Subic rape case. Neither Nicole nor the suspects appeared in court. Soriano was also absent.

December 13, 2005

* Lara and Burris, accompanied by their lawyers, appeared before the Olongapo City Prosecutor’s office. They said they wanted to “show good faith” and prove that Lara is a Mexican, and not a white American.

December 27, 2005

* Jalandoni filed rape charges at the Olongapo Regional Trial Court against the following:
o Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith
o Ssgt Chad Carpentier
o Lance Cpl Dominic Duplantis
o Lance Cpl Keith Silkwood
o Timoteo Soriano, Jr., van driver; charged as co-conspirator

* Lance Corporals Corey Burris and Albert Lara, initially named as suspects were cleared after evidence indicated they were not in the van during the alleged incident.

* The US Embassy confirmed Burris and Lara, who were cleared in the Subic rape case, already left the Philippines.

December 29, 2005

* The US Embassy said Burris and Lara had already left the country and are already at the US base in Okinawa, Japan.

January 2, 2006

* Foreign Affairs Secretary Romulo said that the Department of Foreign Affairs remains committed to invoking the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement to obtain physical custody of the suspects in the Subic Case: “Based on the opinion of the Department of Justice, in which we are in full agreement, we continue to assert that this is an extraordinary case under the VFA and that the Philippines should have actual, physical custody.”

January 3, 2006

* The Subic rape case was raffled off and assigned to Olongapo RTC Branch 73, handled by Judge Renato Dilag, former lawyer of Imelda Marcos in one of her ill-gotten wealth cases. Dilag said he will demand the custody of the four marines.

* Benjamin Formoso, Smith’s lawyer, filed a motion for judicial determination of probable cause.

* Francisco Rodrigo, Carpentier’s lawyer, filed a motion to defer the proceedings.

* The same motion was filed by John Coluso, lawyer for Silkwood and Duplantis.

* Jose Raulito Paras, Soriano’s lawyer, filed three motions:
o motion to quash the information of charges
o motion for judicial determination of probable cause
o motion for the deferment of the issuance of warrant of arrest

January 13, 2006

* Judge Dilag issued a warrant of arrest for the four US Marines, but cleared Soriano.

January 16, 2006

* Invoking Article 5, Paragraph 6 of the Visiting Forces Agreement, the US embassy said that its government has decided that it will retain custody of the four US Marines.

* GMA News reported that Atty. Legarda’s group has stopped handling the Subic rape case. The complainant’s mother told GMA News that despite this, they will go ahead with the case.

* Formoso filed a motion to inhibit against Dilag.

January 17, 2006

* The media reported on US government’s refusal to surrender the custody of the four US Marines.

* The League of Filipino Students, in a protest rally near the US embassy, symbolically served a warrant of arrest against the alleged rapists.

January 18, 2006

* The media reported that Atty. Coluso, lawyer of Duplantis and Silkwood, filed before the DOJ their respective petitions for review of the ruling of the Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office indicting them for rape. Carpentier was reported to have filed his own motion for review earlier. They have also reportedly filed before the Olongapo RTC a motion to quash the warrant of arrest.

* Activists held a series of protests infront of the US Embassy in reaction to the US government’s refusal to surrender the custody of the four US Marines.

January 19, 2006

* The legislative oversight committee on the VFA voted to terminate the VFA between the US and the Philippines and to stop all joint military exercises for the duration of the Sunic rape trial. The joint resolution will be presented to the plenary of the Senate and House of Representatives for approval.

January 26, 2006

* Judge Dilag withdrew the January 13 warrant of arrest against the four US Marines and deferred hearings on the case until after the DOJ has completed its review of the state prosecutors’ findings.

March 5, 2006

* Nicole faced the media to deny allegations that she is a sex worker. She asked the government’s help to win the case and called on Soriano to help her. She said she wants her rapists to be imprisoned for life. She was accompanied by her new lawyer, Atty Evalyn Ursua, among others.

March 15, 2006

* Judge Dilag set the arraignment of the case on March 24.

March 17, 2006

* Attys. Evalyn Ursua, Honorato Aquino and Anna Liza Gonzales filed an omnibus motion asking Olongapo Judge Renato Dilag to declare Article 5, Paragraph 6, of the VFA unconstitutional. This provision states that the custody of the accused resides in the US military and sets a one-year limit for the court to resolve cases involving American military personnel.

March 19, 2006

* DOJ Sec. Gonzalez indicated that charges may be dropped against three of the four US Marines.

March 22, 2006

* Judge Dilag junked the March 17 motion of the victim’s lawyers. He also dismissed their request to issue new arrest warrants and defer the March 24 arraignment. Ursua said they would appeal Dilag’s decision before the Supreme Court.

March 23, 2006

* Judge Dilag inhibited himself from the case after Nicole’s lawyers asked him to do so because his son worked with the Rodrigo Berenguer and Guno Law officers, the defense counsel of one of the suspects, S/Sgt Chad Carpentier.

March 27, 2006

* Sec. Gonzalez, in a letter, asked the SC to allow the transfer of the case to Manila, saying that the lack of judges in Olongapo City could delay proceedings.

March 28, 2006

* The Supreme Court ordered the transfer of the criminal trial of the Subic rape case to the Regional Trial Court of Makati City.

April 3, 2006
* The case was raffled off and assigned to Makati Regional Trial Court 139 handled by Judge Benajmin Pozon.

April 17, 2006

* Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said he recommended the reinvestigation of Timoteo Soriano, the driver of the van, to see if he could be charged as an accomplice. (INQ7)

April 18, 2006

* In a resolution of the petitions for review filed by the suspects, DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzalez downgraded Chad Carpentier, Dominic Duplantis, and Keith Silkwood as mere accessory to the crime, which is two degrees lower than being a principal suspect. Smith remained a principal suspect.

April 19, 2006

* Olongapo City prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni said he would quit the Subic rape case. He was disappointed when DOJ downgraded the charges against Carpentier, Duplantis, and Silkwood.

April 27, 2006

* A day before the scheduled arraignment of the accused US Marines, known personalities joined the panel of private prosecutors: Former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, former Senator Rene Saguisag, and former UP College of Law Dean Pacifico Agabin. Guingona and Saguisag voted against the renewal of the US Bases in 1991. Guingona voted against the VFA in 1999.

April 28, 2006

* US servicemen Smith, Silkwood, Duplantis and Carpentier appeared before the Makati RTC for the arraignment of the Subic rape case. The court entered a “not guilty” plea for the four principal accused as they did not enter any plea. This was their first public appeareance.
* Judge Pozon ruled as without merit the motion filed by DOJ recommending the downgrading of charges against Carpentier, Duplantis, and Silkwood.
* Pozon turned down the defense panel’s request to direct the victim to appear in court and pinpoint the accused. On the other hand, he turned down the prosecution’s request for the court to take custody of the accused and put the US servicemen behind bars.

May 9-10, 2006

* Media reported that two state prosecutors in the Subic rape case have resigned: Feliciano Aspi, chair of the prosecution panel; and Christopher Garvida, assistant city prosecutor. Both cited a heavy workload as their reason for resigning.
* Judge Pozon trashed the prosecution’s motion to declare unconstitutional a provision in the VFA which stipulates that the accused (Americans) should be in the custody of the US.

June 2, 2006

* First day of the Subic Rape case trial: the complainant and the four accused (Smith, Duplantis, Silkwood and Carpentier) showed up at the Makati Regional Trial Court. It was the first time that Nicole and the accused met after six months when the rape was allegedly committed.

* Neptune Bar security guard Tomas Corpuz Jr. became the first prosecution witness to take the stand. He positively identified the victim as the woman he saw on the bar’s dance floor (”pasuray-suray”, “amoy alak”) on November 1, 2005.

* Neptune Bar security guard Gerald Muyot testified that he saw Smith carrying a nearly unconscious woman on his back, out of the club and into a green Starex van.

June 5, 2006
* Defense lawyers cross examined prosecution witness Gerald Muyot. Nicole was seen crying inside the courtroom during Muyot’s cross examination.

* The prosecution presented US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) resident agent Ronald Beltz.

June 7, 2006

* Ronald Beltz, Tony Ramos, Brian Curley and Guy Papageorge–NCIS agents summoned to testify against the accused American marines–did not show up at the Makati RTC for the Subic rape trial. The US Embassy claimed it was still ironing out some diplomatic issues with the Department of Foreign Affairs.

* Judge Pozon ruled that the one-year prescription period began when the case was filed in court on December 27, 2005, and not when arraignment started on April 28, 2006.

June 8, 2006

* Witness Joseph Khonghun, a businessman, said he saw Nicole being unloaded by Americans from a Starex van at the Alava Pier. He identified the accused as the Americans he saw carrying the victim out of the van and dumping her on the pavement. Khonghun also identified the Nicole, whom he said was left behind with her pants pulled down and worn the wrong way. He was the first person on record to speak to the complainant after the alleged rape. He said she did not say she was raped.

* Nicole tearfully walked out of the courtroom as Khonghun recounted what he saw on the night of November 1, 2005. She returned later after Khonghun’s testimony.

June 9, 2006

* Reenactment of what happened on the night of the alleged rape, as per the account of Neptune Bar security guard Gerald Muyot.

* Subic Bay Freeport bike patrolmen Noel Paule and Jaime Avila testified before the court.

Paule found Nicole at the Alava Pier, crying and apparently drunk. He said she embraced him and told him not to leave her–”Dito ka lang, huwag mo akong iwan. Pag nalaman ito ng mama ko, papatayin ako.” He said she also told him “sabi ko sa kanila, tama na, tama na. Pero sige pa rin sila.” She did not tell him that she had been raped.

Avila said he saw the complainant embracing Paule and crying.

June 14, 2006

* The US government allowed US NCIS agents to testify on the Subic Rape case. One of them, Guy Papageorge, testified that Smith admitted to having consensual sex with an “Asian female” inside a Starex van while his buddies cheered him on. Papageorge said Smith did not know the woman’s name.

June 15, 2006

* US NCIS Special Agent Brian Curley and Antonio Ramos, an NCIS investigator, testified for the prosecution.

June 16, 2006

* SBMA chief investigator Paquito Torres and evidence custodian Genevieve Puno took the witness stand.

* GMA News gets an exclusive interview with Nicole.

June 19, 2006

* SBMA investigator Ramon Paje testified that Nicole was very drunk when he saw her in the early hours of November 2, 2005. He explained that when he wrote “hardly intoxicated” as a description of Nicole in his spot report, what he actually meant was that she was really drunk.

* SBMA chief investigator Paquito Torres continued his testimony, insisting that he didn’t coerce van driver Timoteo Soriano Jr. into saying that he (Soriano) witnessed a gang rape.

June 20, 2006

* Christopher Mills, the US Navy engineman who invited Nicole and her stepsister to Subic, testified for the prosecution. He identified Silkwood as the man he saw dancing with Nicole. He said the she went missing from the bar, and that he found her hours later at the hospital.

* NCIS Special Agent Bruce Warshawsky also testified.

June 22, 2006
* The prosecution presented the investigator who took the photographs of (among others) Nicole’s underwear and jeans, and a used condom. The defense noted that these pieces of clothing did not have any tears, which could indicate struggle, nor seminal stains.

* Nicole did not show up in court for the first time since the hearings began. Her lawyer said she was resting.

June 23, 2006

* Nicole’s stepsister, Anna Liza Franco, testified that she saw Nicole dancing with one of the accused, then lost sight of her, and found her hours later at their hotel in a state of shock.

June 26, 2006

* Continuation of Franco’s testimony: a certain “Dr. Estrera” said snide remarks to the victim upon learning that she was to be tested in connection with a rape incident; a certain “Ben Natividad” suggested that the victim should just accept payment for her ordeal.

June 27, 2006

* Bartender Roger Sanidad testified.
* Franco returned to the witness stand and insisted that the victim was heavily drunk.

June 29, 2006

* Dr. Rolando Ortiz II of the James Gordon Memorial Hospital in Olongapo testified. He was the doctor who examined the victim 33 hours after the alleged rape and found that she had bruises on her arms and right leg, as well as contusions in the genital area.

June 30, 2006

* Forensic expert Dr. Raquel Fortun was presented by the prosecution as an expert witness. The most part of the hearing was spent with the prosecution giving a rundown of her credentials and the defense questioning her qualifications as an “expert”.

July 3, 2006

* The defense wrapped up their cross-examination of Nicole’s stepsister.

July 4, 2006

* Judge Pozon adjourned the hearing early.
* The accused and the defense team had a small party at the US Embassy in celebration of the US Independence Day.

July 5, 2006

* GMA7 aired an exclusive interview with one of the accused– Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier.

July 6, 2006

* Nicole took the stand and broke down in tears a couple of times as she recounted what transpired on the night of November 1, 2005. She identified Smith as her rapist in the course of her testimony.

July 7, 2006

* The trial was suspended after Nicole failed to attend the hearing due to severe traumatic stress.

July 10, 2006

* Nicole resumed her testimony. Recounting what happened in the van on November 1, She said she screamed and tried to push away Smith, who was already on top of her. She also heard laughter in the van. The next thing she remembered after regaining consciousness was that she was on the pavement with her pants worn the wrong way.

* Nicole struck Smith repeatedly with her bag. She claimed Smith tripped her as she entered the court room. To avoid a repeat of the incident, Judge Pozon changed the seating arrangement of the accused.

July 11, 2006

* Forensic expert Dr. Raquel Fortun testified that the injuries Nicole sustained in the genital area are consistent with non-consensual sexual intercourse.

July 13, 2006

* Nicole resumed her testimony, saying her life changed for the worse after the (alleged) rape. The lives of other family members have also been disrupted, as they attend to her and run the canteen she used to manage.

* The defense got Dr. Fortun to agree during cross examination that genital injuries could also be sustained during consensual, “rough” sex.

* Anti-crime advocate Teresita Ang-See approached the accused during recess, admonishing them for laughing while Nicole was in the same room, crying.

July 14, 2006

* Nicole’s cross examination: Only the lawyer of Lance Cpl. Smith, Patricia Formoso, questioned Nicole during cross-examination. The defense sought to establish that Nicole had selective memory. The questioning lasted in less than an hour.

* Judge Pozon also asked Nicole some questions, particularly on how Smith touched and kissed her.

July 17, 2006

* Timoteo Soriano Jr., the driver of the van where the alleged rape occurred, did not appear at the Makati Regional Trial court. Soriano’s lawyer, Jose Raulito Paras, told the court that Soriano was invoking his right against self incrimination.

Soriano was slated to be a prosecution witness. However, he refused to testify as Nicole’s camp is also seeking his inclusion as an accused in the rape case. It may be recalled that Soriano recanted his first affidavit, where he recalled what he knew about the (gang) rape. He is now standing by his second affidavit: that he never said he witnessed a gang rape.

* In an exclusive interview with GMA News, van driver Timoteo Soriano Jr. said he fears for his life and his family.

July 18, 2006

* Police Chief Inspector Dr. Francisco Supe Jr., head of the DNA section of the PNP Crime Laboratory told the court that body fluid containing Nicole’s DNA material was found in the crotch area of her underwear and both sides of the condom supposedly used by Smith.

July 20, 2006

* Cross examination of Supe; defense refuses to submit the accused’s DNA samples for testing. Police Senior Insp, Edmar de la Torre, also a forensic DNA analysts, also testified.

July 25, 2006

* Dr. Kenneth Go, a toxicologist testified that Nicole was too drunk to have consentual sex on the night that the alleged rape happened.

* Insp. Maria Theresa Bodo of the the Crime Laboratory of the Philippine National Police extracted blood sample for DNA testing from Smith after Pozon granted the prosecution’s motion.

July 27, 2006

* The prosecution asked the court to include Soriano, the van driver, as one of the accused van after the DOJ released a resolution saying there is enough basis to charge him.

* The defense cross-examined Dr. Go. He maintained that Nicole could not have consented to the sexual act because she was too drunk.

August 17, 2006

* Inspector Edmar De La Torre of the Philippine National Police-Crime Laboratory testified that DNA from a blood sample taken from US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith matched the DNA material found on the underwear of Nicole.

September 11, 2006

* Daniel Smith maintained in court that he had consensual sex with Nicole inside a van on the night of November 1, 2005.

September 12, 2006

* US Marine Lance Corporal Justin Michael Bamberger, 23, a defense witness, testified that Nicole told him that she was raped by US marines.

* Bamberger initially said that in Nicole’s first text message to him, she dismissed as “a stupid rumor” reports of the rape. But in a cross-examination by prosecution lawyer Hazel Valdez, Bamberger admitted that Nicole later texted him that she was the woman reported to have been raped by a group of US marines.

September 14, 2006

* “Nicole” walked out of the Makati City regional trial courtroom. The victim and her mother were reportedly not satisfied with the performance of the government prosecutors.

* The court accepted as an expert witness for the defense Dr. Teresita Sanchez, forensic obstetrician and gynecologist.

September 15, 2006

* Activists held a rally against the government prosecutors. The protesters demanded that the prosecutors, except for Atty. Hazel Valdez, be replaced.

* Nicole and her mother did not attend the scheduled hearing, which was eventually postponed. In the evening, Nicole aired to the media her complaints against the government prosecutors.

September 18, 2006

* Dr. Teresita Sanchez, forensic obstetrician and gynecologist who testified for the defense, said the injuries sustained by Nicole do not suggest that she was raped.

* State prosecutor Emilie delos Santos called Nicole and her mother “ingrates,” while Sec. Gonzalez defended the prosecutors.

September 19, 2006

* Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier testified that Nicole voluntarily went with Smith to board the van they had rented. He said he did not view Nicole as a victim, but a “professional preying on the vulnerability of Smith.”

* Nicole said she will not attend the hearings until the state prosecutors are replaced.

September 20, 2006

* Gonzalez issued a memorandum ordering the NBI to investigate the allegation of Nicole’s mother that the state prosecutors convinced her to agree to an out-of-court settlement with the American suspects.

September 21, 2006

* In his testimony, Lance Corporal Keith Silkwood denied allegations that he carried Nicole out of their rented van “like a pig” after the alleged rape took place.

* Nicole’s mother went to the DOJ to formally ask Gonzalez to replace the government prosecutors.

September 22, 2006

* Lance Corporal Dominic Duplantis testified that he saw Nicole and Daniel Smith kissing and laughing before having sex.

* Gonzalez said Nicole’s mother could face libel charges for her accusations against the state prosecutors.

September 25, 2006

* The defense rested its case with its medical expert, Dr. Sanchez, wrapping up her testimony. She maintained that Nicole could not have been raped by a US serviceman because of the absence of injuries in between her thighs and knees.

October 5, 2006

* Judge Benjamin Pozon tentatively set to November 27, 2006 the the promulgation of the decision on teh Subic rape case. This date fell exactly a month away from December 27, which would mark a year since the rape charges against the US Marines were filed at the Olongapo Regional Trial Court, the first court to handle the case.

October 9, 2006

* Justice Sec. Gonzalez announced that Prosecutor Hazel Valdez has been removed from the government’s prosecution panel in the Subic rape case. Valdez opposed the state prosecutors’ decision to cancel the prosecution’s rebuttal.

October 11, 2006

* Nicole’s supporters formed the Justice for Nicole, Justice for our Nation Coalition.

October 17, 2006

* USS Essex and two other US Navy amphibious ships docked at the Subic port. The ships carried more than 3,000 American soldiers who will participate in the US-RP bilateral exercises.

November 1, 2006

* Exactly a year after she was allegedly raped, Niicole led a protest rally organized by the Task Force Subic Rape inside the Subic Bay Freeport.

November 2, 2006

* Manila policemen violently dispersed a Subic rape anniversary commemoration rally by the League of Filipino Students in front of the DOJ.

November 15, 2006

* Nicole met with women legislators led by Liza Maza and Cynthia Villar at the House of Representatives.

November 24, 2006

* Citing time constraints, Judge Pozon rescheduled from November 27 to December 4 the promulgation of judgment on the Subic rape case. - GMANews.TV

Recalling the events that preceded her rape, she advised other women not to drink with men they did not know, and to make sure they had trusted companions who would not leave them alone with strangers. My friend and sister left me at the bar that night, Suzette said. Manila Standard Today December 6, 2006 Joyce Pangco Panares, Jaime Pilapil and Michael Caber with AFP

How could there have been rape when the supposed victim was wearing tight fitting jeans at the time? How could the jeans have been removed in a very tight spot such as the van where the rape was supposed to have been committed? Try taking off tight-fitting jeans you’re wearing inside your car and you’ll know what I mean. The pair of jeans that the victim wore at the time could only have been removed by force if there was rape. But there were no signs of force like bruises o the victim’s body. Meaning, she removed the jeans herself or was assisted in taking it off. Here’s another fact worth taking note of: The victim was dumped like a pig on a sidewalk near the pier where the ship of the accused was docked. She had her pants off her but she was wearing her panties. A condom was found glued onto her pants, apparently still sticky. So, the accused still took the time to put on a condom while he was forcing himself on the supposed victim? From where I stand, the man in a consensual sex encounter wears a condom not only for his own protection but for his partner as well. Before the supposed rape, the alleged victim and an America later identified as Cpl Keith Silkwood were engaged in dirty dancing at the Neptune Club inside the Former Subic naval base. Both the alleged victim and Silkwood appeared drunk. From what I gathered, Staff Sgt. Chad Carpetier, the team leader of three Marines – Corporals Daniel Smith, Dominic Duplantis and Silkwood came to fetch them at the Neptune . The group’s curfew was about up and the Marines had to hurry back to their ship. If they violated the curfew, they would not be granted a liberty pass to leave their ship when it docked in Okinawa , its next port of call. The woman went with the Marines to the van that fetched them. She was not forced into the van, as reports indicated. The alleged victim’s sister, who had another US serviceman for a boyfriend, tried to prevent her from going with the group; but she was adamant. How could those Marines think of gang-raping the woman when they were so worried about getting back to their ship to beat the curfew? By Ramon Tulfo First posted 00:47 am, May 2, 2006 Inquirer Published on page A18 Philippine Daily Inquirer

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Court told of Nicole’s ‘telltale’ messages

The Filipina who is accusing four US Marines of raping her had told an American serviceman friend that the rape did not take place.
Lance Cpl. Justin Michael Bamberger, a friend of the victim known only as “Nicole,” told the court in Makati City she had initially denied being raped in a cell-phone text message to him.
Four Marines have been charged with raping the 22-year-old woman in the Subic Freeport in November.
Bamberger told the court that there were also other inconsistencies in Nicole’s account of what happened on the night she claimed to have been raped by 21-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith.
Nicole said she met the four Marines in a bar and after extensive drinking, she found herself in a van, being raped by Smith.
On Monday Smith told the court he had consensual sex with Nicole who even helped put a condom on him.
The other defendants in the case are Lance Cpls. Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood and Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier, who were with Smith in the van.
Bamberger, who had met Nicole while she was working in a military base in Davao City, said that after he heard of the rape case, he sent a text message to Nicole, asking her if it was true.
Nicole replied that it was just “a stupid rumor,” but several hours later, she sent another text message, saying, “Hey, that rumor was true. I was the one that got raped.”
Prosecution lawyer Hazel Valdez said in an interview it was very natural for rape victims not to admit what had happened to them.
Bamberger said he and Nicole had been regularly exchanging text messages during her stay in Subic. In fact, he said, she even said goodbye to her in Camp Navarro in Davao days before she and her sisters left for Subic on October 30, 2005.
“We were good friends, she is very friendly,” Bamberger said. He said Nicole was introduced to him by fellow Marines in September 2005.
Bamberger also testified that Nicole told him that one of the Marines she was dancing with in the club asked her out. When he asked her why she did not react when the Marine carried her outside the club, Nicole asked him why he didn’t believe her.
Bamberger, a member of the Okinawa, Japan-based 12th Marine Regiment, told the court that he later asked her why a rapist would use a condom and that the woman “freaked out” and asked why he didn’t believe her.
He said that parts of her story didn’t “sound right,” and were different from the newspaper reports. She, in turn, kept asking if he believed her and if her story made sense.
Defense lawyer Ricardo Diaz said Bamberger’s testimony helped belie the allegations of the prosecution that there was rape by revealing the inconsistencies in the complainant’s statement.
The case has stoked bitter anti-US sentiment in the Philippines and sparked street protests.
It is also seen as a litmus test for the Visiting Forces Agreement, which grants limited immunity from criminal prosecution to US soldiers taking part in maneuvers in the country.
Under the agreement, US military defendants can be held in custody by the US Embassy in Manila but tried in a civilian Philippine court where the judge can decide whether to open proceeding to the media or the public.
–Jefferson Antiporda and AFP

Nicole’s US Marine boyfriend backs her claim of rape
By Michael Punongbayan
Publication Date: [Monday, June 26, 2006]
The American boyfriend of the Filipino woman who filed rape charges against four United States servicemen has backed her claim and vouched for her character.

“I would describe (her) as a trusting and very honest person. (She) and her family are faithfully religious Roman Catholics,” Sergeant Bryan Dalembertian Goodrich of the US Marine Corps said of his 22-year-old girlfriend, who was allegedly raped by his fellow US Marines at the Subic Freeport in Zambales last November.

The STAR learned that Goodrich was among the first to learn how his girlfriend, identified only as “Nicole,” was allegedly raped on the night of Nov. 1.

In his statement to a US Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) investigator, Goodrich, of the 12th Marines Operations Platoon based at Camp Hansen in Okinawa, Japan, stood behind Nicole and even defended her from rumors that his girlfriend worked in a bar.

“She works in her family’s store and she is a hard worker. She has a very close family. To my knowledge, she has never worked in a bar before, only in her family’s cantina,” he said.

Goodrich, whose affidavit is now being utilized as written testimonial evidence against Lance Corporals Daniel Smith, Dominic Duplantis, Keith Silkwood, and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier, said he met Nicole in July 2005 when he went to Zamboanga City for the “Operation Enduring Freedom” joint military exercises.

“We were friends at first but later became girlfriend and boyfriend. I would usually go to the cantina for lunch and visit her,” he said in his statement to NCIS agent Douglas Robinson at Camp Hansen.

“We actually became boyfriend and girlfriend on Aug. 27. Just before I returned to Okinawa, we agreed to keep in touch after I left the camp,” Goodrich added.

Goodrich said he and Nicole kept in touch through telephone calls and e-mails on an almost daily basis, while also sending letters by post.

About two weeks before the alleged rape, Goodrich said Nicole informed him that she was going to Subic with her sisters along with a certain Carlos, a sailor on the USS Stalkholmes.

He said he even called her two days before the night of the alleged rape and eventually learned about the incident the following day by e-mail and was asked to call.

“When I talked to her, she appeared to be timid, scared and confused. She was also crying. She said that she didn’t know what to say or how to tell me, but she was raped the previous night,” Goodrich told the NCIS.

“While she told me this, she continued crying. When she told me this, I was shocked,” he said, adding that he consoled Nicole and told her to calm down, but she continued to cry throughout their conversation.

During the weeks following the alleged rape, Goodrich said he and Nicole did not talk much about the case but they continued to communicate. For developments, he relied on the news.

But during this period, Goodrich said Nicole told him about how a nurse in the hospital where she was brought on the night of Nov. 1 treated her badly and told her “something along the lines that maybe she deserved this.”

Goodrich told the NCIS that they started talking about the details of the alleged rape in late November, and Nicole told him she was with her sister and Carlos at a club.

Carlos, during the past few hearings at the Makati City regional trial court, has been identified as Carlos Ocasio of the US Navy while the club was Neptune Club.

Nicole, Goodrich said, spoke of a certain Gerald, who accompanied them and with whom she drank alcoholic drinks as if they were competing.

Goodrich said Nicole told him she danced with a guy who was later identified as Smith, one of the accused and the one tagged as the person who allegedly had sex with her.

Nicole told her boyfriend that Smith wanted her to dance with her back against him and added that “she did not like dancing that way.”

She also told Goodrich that she drank something called Bull Frog and that after drinking the same, she no longer knew or remembered what was going on.

“I asked her if she blacked out or passed out and I explained the difference. She said she blacked out. She said she might have been carried piggyback to the van,” she told Goodrich, referring to the Starex van where the alleged rape took place.

Nicole, not mentioning anything about the actual sex, told her boyfriend that Smith’s weight overwhelmed her and that there was heckling inside the van.

“Other than the heckling that was going on by others in the van, (Nicole) never mentioned anyone else raping her. (Nicole) stated that the next thing she remembered was lying in the streets with her pants down,” Goodrich told the NCIS.

Goodrich’s affidavit has been tagged as one of the strongest evidence to be presented by the prosecution since he does not doubt Nicole’s claim of rape.

“She has never told me that she is making this up. I think she is being honest about the incident, given her character,” he told the NCIS while even referring to Nicole’s mother, Susan — whose name he spelled as Suzzane in his affidavit — as an outgoing, friendly, and hardworking person.

The Philippine STAR

Opinion

The inside story behind our bungling of the Subic ‘rape’ case
BY THE WAY By Max V. Soliven
Publication Date: [Thursday, November 24, 2005]* * *
Coming back to yesterday’s Shrine Board meeting, since Commodore Feliciano “Fil” Salonga is President of the foundation, as well as Chairman of the Subic Metropolitan Development Administration (SBMA) and the Subic Freeport, I managed to get the story of what really transpired on November 1 when a 22-year old Filipina was raped, allegedly by one, or all of the six accused United States Marines.

Salonga, not only a retired Philippine Navy officer (with the rank of Commodore) but a graduate of King’s Point Academy in New York, the merchant marine equivalent of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, is an “old seadog” and knows naval matters well. When I asked him why his security officers in Subic Freeport had not kept the six US Marines under arrest, and had surrendered them instead to the US Embassy’s military attache and other Embassy representatives, Salonga underscored that the SBMA and Subic Freeport has “no powers of arrest or detention.” It was the fault of the Department of Justice that nobody arrived in time to institute proceedings against the Marine suspects and effect their arrest, Fil pointed out. Two DOJ prosecutors, the Justice Department had promised would be on the scene by 7 a.m. to take custody of the US Marines. But they didn’t get there in time. Neither did the local police take the Marine suspects into custody.

“So,” Commodore Salonga shrugged in frustration, “what could we do?”

In fact, it turns out, it had been SBMA Chairman Salonga’s quick action which had gotten the six US Marines “back” from their aircraft carrier, which they had hastily boarded and aboard which they might have “escaped” to the high seas – and beyond our reach in international waters.

Along with thousands of other Marines and sailors from their vessel, the World War II aircraft carrier USS Essex, the suspects had been on shore leave, having a good time in Olongapo and Subic. What allegedly happened is that the victim and other female friends had apparently been with the suspects at one “party.” The rest of what transpired will probably come up in subsequent testimony as the case progresses. Salonga was first tipped off by Subic residents who informed him that the fleeing Marines had scrambled up the gangplank of the Essex, the vessel which had transported them and 4,000 other Marines and seamen to take part in the Balikatan exercises in Mindanao, and had just weighed anchor to set sail for the Marines’ home base in Okinawa. There was only one way to prevent the vessel from getting out of the Bay – refuse to send a tugboat to steer it out to sea. Salonga messaged the American skipper: No tugboat unless the six US Marines “involved” in the case were offloaded and sent back to shore.

The Captain of the USS Essex complied, and the vessel, getting its needed tugboat in exchange, sailed off as agreed.

What irritated the onlookers and witnesses to the hasty attempted departure of the suspect Marines is that the victim had been dumped on the roadside unconscious from the van in which the US servicemen were riding in their hurry to catch their ship before it sailed. The American suspects reportedly didn’t even try to help her, but instead jettisoned the inert victim in rough fashion. This was witnessed, apparently, by Mr. Joseph Khongun, an older brother of the Mayor of Subic, who rushed to the girl’s aid and phoned Salonga. The victim (name still withheld) was brought immediately to the James Gordon Memorial Hospital – the base hospital named after the late father of Senator Dick Gordon, himself a former Olongapo mayor.

The problem is that our pertinent Justice officials and our police officers hesitated, or failed to take immediate action. Thus, under the terms of the Visiting Forces Agreement, the US Embassy was able to take custody of the six Marines and spirit them off to Manila – which under the VFA, is their legal right if our government fails to take them formally into detention. The six are being held in detention quarters in the Seafront compound in Manila, we hear. Although the US Embassy pledges to present them if and when required, they’re in US hands.

It’s a pity that the bad conduct of six Marine servicemen – whether the girl was raped by any of them, or not, remains to be established – has given rise to a wave of anti-American feeling, much of it, to my observation, orchestrated by the Left. That 4,000 other US Marines and servicemen who took part in Balikatan had behaved themselves, and had been helpful in participating in the exercise, has been overlooked. The US Embassy and government now have a dicey situation in their lap, one threatened by emotionalism and nationalist sentiment. Our own government, for its part, is trying to cool off matters, but not doing a very good job of it.

The only solution is to conduct a swift preliminary investigation, and if so warranted, a speedy but fair trial – and have done with it. Let the chips fall as they may.

Just as wars, it’s axiomatic, are waged for the most trivial causes, the most trivial of incidents (in truth rape is not trivial) can destroy the best of relationships.

The Philippine STAR

Headlines

US Navy prober testifies in rape case

Publication Date: [Tuesday, June 06, 2006]
The driver of the Hyundai Starex van in which four United States Marines allegedly raped a 22-year-old Filipino woman last year told a US Navy investigator that the servicemen were with the woman on the night of the alleged crime, the investigator testified yesterday.

US Navy Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) agent Ronald Veltz told the Makati City regional trial court (RTC) that Timoteo Soriano, the Filipino driver, even drew a sketch showing Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith and the 22-year-old Filipina seated in the back of the van on the night of Nov. 1, 2005.

The two US-NCIS investigators were expected to testify in court that one of four US Marines accused of rape admitted to having consensual sex with the Filipino woman who filed the case, a prosecution lawyer said.

Evalyn Ursua, a lawyer for the 22-year-old woman, said testimonies given by the US-NCIS officers will form key evidence to be weighed against the woman’s allegation that she was raped by Smith in a van while three other Marines cheered him on.

Veltz quoted Soriano as saying that Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier was in the front passenger seat, Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood and Lance Cpl. Dominic Duplantis were sitting in the middle of the van, while Smith and the woman were in the back of the van. Carpentier, Silkwood and Duplantis are Smith’s co-accused in the case.

Ursua said Veltz will continue his testimony later this week, during which other US Navy investigators are expected to testify about Smith’s statement admitting he had consensual sex with the woman identified only as “Nicole.”

The alleged rape took place Nov. 1, 2005 at the former US Subic Bay naval base near Olongapo City.

The Marines have denied the charge of rape, which carries a sentence of up to 40 years in prison.

Ursua said she was given a copy of Smith’s statement to Navy investigators admitting he had consensual sex.

“He had admitted that he had sex, that’s important in the prosecution of the case. He says it’s consensual, but that’s his claim,” Ursua told the Associated Press.

She explained that after establishing that Smith did have sex with the complainant, the prosecution would then have to prove that it was not consensual at all.

On Friday, two security guards at the Neptune bar in Subic told the Makati City court they saw the woman, identified only as “Nicole,” drunk on the night of the alleged rape during which Smith carried her on his back to a parked van.

Smith and Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood, Lance Cpl. Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier are members of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Force stationed on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.

The Marines had completed counterterrorism maneuvers with Filipino troops when the alleged rape occurred.

The US Embassy has refused to turn the US servicemen over to Philippine police, citing a provision under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that lets US authorities hold American servicemen facing a criminal case.

US officials have also refused to disclose the hometowns of the accused.

Meanwhile, the Hyundai Starex van in which the alleged rape took place will have to be brought to Makati City for a reenactment of the incident outside the Neptune Club where the crime was allegedly committed.

During yesterday’s Subic rape case hearing, Makati RTC Branch 139 Judge Benjamin Pozon said he will issue a subpoena ordering the owner of the vehicle to bring the van to the court before Friday.

The van will be used for a field demonstration to reenact how Smith allegedly carried the victim on his back out of the club and into the vehicle as witnessed by a security guard.

The defense, after grilling Gerald Muyot of the Vanguard Watchman Agency for some three hours, asked the court to allow a demonstration of what supposedly took place on the night of Nov. 1, 2005 in front of the Neptune Club entrance.

The reenactment was supposed to take place yesterday but the prosecution demanded that the real vehicle be used for greater accuracy. The van is still in Olongapo City.

Muyot, who first took the stand as the prosecution’s second witness last Friday, testified that he saw Smith carry the victim out of the club and loaded her into the vehicle after opening the sliding door with his left hand.

Defense lawyers led by Benjamin Formoso took turns grilling him during cross-examination in an effort to find loopholes and faults in his testimony.

Muyot was even shown photos of the club’s exterior and was asked to pinpoint the area where he saw the van before and after the alleged victim was carried out by Smith.

The phrase “She’s with me, we’re gonna go now” — allegedly uttered by the accused while he was leaving the club — was repeatedly mentioned during the lengthy question and answer period.

Muyot was even asked questions that made spectators laugh discreetly, such as how keen his vision was, after he testified that “Wala pong grado ang mata ko (There is nothing wrong with my eyes, sir).”

Formoso even claimed the victim had asked for money in exchange for an interview with GMA-7 television reporter Susan Enriquez.

Ursua, one of the victim’s private attorneys, said the defense is obviously trying to discredit the witness by attacking his recall capability.

According to her, despite the defense’s attacks, they are confident that their witnesses will be able to put together the pieces of what happened on Nov. 1, 2005.

Ursua said the prosecution respects the defense’s right to cross-examine their witness for hours but intended to object if this seen as a stall tactic or “kapag mukhang sumosobra na sila (if they seem to be going too far).”

She said they intend to present some 40 witnesses, including four US-NCIS agents who will testify on the results of their own investigation of the case.

On the second day of the rape trial, the victim again attended the proceedings, sitting in the third to the last seat of the first row of the gallery.

Smith, with a stenographer’s notebook in hand, sat with his co-accused on the seats fronting the gallery behind their lawyers.

The trial’s battle lines seemed to be drawn along gender lines, as the prosecution was made up entirely of females while the defense lawyers were all men. — AP, Michael Punongbayan

The Philippine STAR

Headlines

US prober testifies Marine admitted to consensual sex

Publication Date: [Thursday, June 15, 2006]
A United States Navy investigator testified yesterday that a US Marine accused of rape admitted to “consensual sex” with a Filipino woman while his three co-accused servicemen cheered him on.

US Naval Criminal Investigation Service agent Guy Papageorge, quoting from his investigation report, said Lance Cpl. Daniel John Smith, “admitted he had sexual intercourse with the Filipino woman inside the van and that the other Marines cheered him on,” testimony that was also given in an earlier hearing by the van’s driver, Timoteo Soriano.

“(Smith) likewise admitted he used a condom,” Papageorge told the Makati City regional trial court.

He also said that when he asked Smith if the sex was consensual two days after the incident, Smith answered: “Yes, it was consensual.”

Papageorge and Ronald Veltz, another Navy investigator, appeared in court after the US embassy agreed to let him testify for the prosecution in the trial of the four Marines, reversing an earlier decision that threatened to derail the proceedings.

Last week, the US embassy caused a stir by saying the issue of diplomatic immunity would prevent Navy investigators from testifying. Philippine prosecutors accused the US embassy of holding up the proceedings and Makati RTC Judge Benjamin Pozon gave US officials until yesterday to allow the witnesses to appear in court.

Prosecutors allege that Smith raped the woman, identified only as “Nicole,” inside a Starex van while Lance Cpls. Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood and Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier cheered him on. The Marines had just finished counterterrorism maneuvers with Philippine troops.

The rape charges are punishable by up to 40 years in prison. The Marines have refused to answer the charges and the judge entered a plea of innocent for them.

Papageorge said Smith also told him he met the 22-year-old plaintiff at the Neptune Bar inside the former US Naval base at Subic Bay, Olongapo City in the province of Zambales on the night of Nov. 1, 2005, when the alleged rape took place.

Carpentier told investigators he saw Smith and Nicole dancing and, later, kissing as the woman sat on Smith’s lap, Papageorge testified.

Private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua earlier said testimony confirming Smith’s admission of consensual sex with Nicole gave an important boost to the case against the Marines and that Smith would need to prove his claim that the sex was indeed consensual.

Prosecutors and several witnesses had earlier testified that Nicole was drunk when Smith carried her on his back to the van.

Papageorge said he spoke with Carpentier, whom he referred to as the leader of the pack, being a staff sergeant who exercises control over lance corporals and Smith.

He said Carpentier admitted authorizing his co-accused to bring the victim and load her into a Hyundai Starex van.

According to Papageorge, Smith even detailed the sexual positions he assumed with Nicole — with him “on top” and “on the side” — before someone yelled “She’s a bitch,” probably offending Nicole, who seemed to have been insulted by the outburst.

Papageorge said he went to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s (SBMA) Law Enforcement Division (LED) office to investigate but Nicole did not arrive for her interview with him shortly after she accused the four defendants of rape.

Nicole’s absence prompted Papageorge to go to the Grand Leisure Hotel along Waterfront Road, where the victim was, to find out why she was delayed.

When he arrived, he said he saw the victim sitting on a bench crying while an assistant manager of the hotel was being nasty and apparently arguing with her.

The hotel official allegedly tried to prevent him from talking to the victim as he tried to deliver a piece of paper to her with a telephone number.

“It seemed to me that he was tormenting her,” Papageorge said in court.

Papageorge said he brought the girl to the LED before proceeding to the US Navy ship USSX to find the accused and conduct his investigation.

In a statement, the US embassy said their government’s decision to allow Papageorge and Veltz to testify was “consistent with our commitment to seeing that justice is served in a fair and impartial trial.”

The two NCIS agents posted to the US embassy have had their diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention waived by the US government “for the limited purpose of testifying at this trial.”

As another gesture of goodwill, the US embassy added that its government will “also seek to bring back to the Philippines two additional NCIS employees who participated in the investigation of this case.”

“This decision was made following discussions with the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and upon completion of the appropriate steps for requesting court testimony from persons covered by the Vienna Convention,” the US embassy said.

The NCIS “provided the entirety of its preliminary written reports beginning November 2005 to both the Office of the City Prosecutor in Olongapo and the defense counsels,” the US embassy said.

It also reiterated that the US government has “worked with Philippine authorities under the precepts of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) throughout the investigation of this alleged incident and will continue to do so through the completion of the judicial proceedings.

“The US remains committed to seeing that justice is served and looks forward to a fair and impartial process that can provide a just outcome,” the US embassy added. — Michael Punongbayan, Pia Lee-Brago and AP

She recalled how Nicole underwent a urine test at the James Gordon Hospital in Olongapo City at around 3 a.m., or shortly after the supposed rape. Her sister was in a state of shock and Franco said it was she who accomplished the forms for Nicole.

She said a certain Dr. Estera, upon learning Nicole was to be tested in connection with a rape incident, snapped at her patient: “Na-rape ka? Baka ginusto mo? (So you were raped? Maybe you wanted it?)”

When Nicole heard this, she answered back, “Why would I want that?” Franco said. “Then (Nicole) became hysterical.”
As in her testimony on Natividad, Franco only identified Estera by name when Judge Pozon asked her.
Nicole repeatedly cried out in pain while Estera examined her “but the doctor just went on ignoring her,” Franco said in Filipino.
Franco also resented how the hospital attended to a pregnant woman first, despite the fact that Nicole got there well ahead of the woman.
“What happened to us is worse than the death of a loved one. This is a nightmare,” Franco said. “We lost many opportunities. I could have found a job by now. We will grow old with this nightmare and it will not go away.”
She said one of their younger siblings had been forced to stop schooling because “we all had to give priority to (Nicole).”
Franco said it was only on the afternoon of Nov. 3 that Nicole was able to file a formal complaint before the Olongapo City prosecutors office. By then, SBMA Administrator Armand Areza had provided the sisters with a safehouse.
First posted 03:55 June 27, 2006 Inquirer Contreras and Quismundo

Notes: 4 Marines and van driver were charged Dec. 27, 2005. The prosecutor who filed the rape charges on 4 Marines and sought their arrest, detention without bail. The van driver was also charged as a co-conspirator for apparently doing nothing to stop the alleged rape. Viray said only one of the four Marines charged with sexually assaulted the woman but the other three and the driver provided “moral assistance” in committing the crime.
Jalandoni also said that the prosecution panel was considering making Silkwood and Duplantis as state witnesses, being the least guilty among the five respondents.
“We are already closing the door for Timoteo Soriano to become a state witness [but] we open the door for Duplantis and Silkwood to become one because they are the least guilty,” he said.
“They cheered when the crime took place and we can take it as a circumstance that they are the least guilty,” Jalandoni said.
Soriano was named as a suspect after he recanted his earlier statement supporting the victim’s claim that she was raped.

Question:
Why is it that Timoteo Sorriano Jr. wasn’t arrested and all the four US Marines were under the custody of the US embassy? The 3 US Marines were in detention from November 2005 until December 2006 and Daniel Smith is still in detention.

First posted 08:38 December 28, 2005 INQ.net Agence France Presses Associated Press Inquirer GMA7

December 4, 2006 : In his landmark decision, Judge Benjamin Pozon convicted US Marine Corporal Daniel Smith citing proof of 14 circumstances which, taken together, overturned the constitutional presumption of innocence.
1) Smith was the one who danced last with the complaint.
2) He was the one who brought her to the van.
3) He admitted having carnal knowledge with the complaint.
4) Smith and Corporal Keith Silkwood carried complainant out of the van.
5) Complainant felt pain in her private parts.
6) Complainant revealed the sexual assault to the guard at Neptune Club, to her step-sister her boyfriend, her mother and the doctor who examined her.
7) Her examination revealed contusions on different parts of arms and legs and her labia minora;
Her panties had Smith’s seminal stains, and so did the condom.

Final blow: “All these taken into account, the court is morally convinced that accused Corporal Daniel Smith committed the crime charged. He admitted sexual intercourse with complainant whom he knew was intoxicated and render unconscious by the….accumulated effects of the different alcoholic drinks she has taken in succession at the time of the felony. She could not have consented to the bestial act of the accused.”
Pozon sentenced the 21 year old Smith to reclusion perpetual – imprisonment for up to 40 years for “bestial acts” against an intoxicated Filipino woman. But the judge acquitted three other US Marines accused of conspiracy in the crime.

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Aracelie Pescador, Class of 1955
Leila Lopez (Reyes), Class of 1957
Zenaida Hibbard (Manuel), Class of 1957
Laverna Sebastian (Tumulak), Class of 1959
Carmen Rita Ferrell, Class of 1963
Maria Rosario Alfaro, Class of 1963
Carmen Domingo, Class of 1964
Maricar Sofer, Class of 1964
Rebecca A De Leon, Class of 1964
Betty L Bejerano (Luy), Class of 1965
Maria Ma Vivian T Albarracin, Class of 1965
Carmencita Macasinag (Balatbat), Class of 1966
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Roxanne R Lopez, Class of 1967
Mercedes Mabasa (Natividad), Class of 1969
Joy F Raro, Class of 1970
Carlota M Atienza (Mas), Class of 1971
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Abigail A Lores (Apostol), Class of 1972
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Concepcion C Espinosa, Class of 1972
Helen C Patlingrao (Carballo), Class of 1972
Rita Ojda, Class of 1972
Mace Sr Marlene Anne G Aquino, Class of 1973
Marie Josephine P Han - Valera (Palis), Class of 1973
Angel Jesus E Eustaquio, Class of 1974
Elizabeth Enriquez Suaso, Class of 1974
Gloria Demafelix (Ureta), Class of 1974
Rosario S Balintag-Onrubia, Class of 1974
Sharifa Nurhasan (Balan), Class of 1974
Aileen B Enriquez (Bustamente), Class of 1975
Cornelia Tan, Class of 1975
Maria Genoveva A Fabian Dairo (Fabian), Class of 1975
Marieva Camins, Class of 1975
Elda Stamaria-Aquino, Class of 1976
Josephine L Dajuela (Lasprilla), Class of 1976
Ana Bellusa M Pellejo (Marquiala), Class of 1977
Edeline Chiong Wee, Class of 1977
Frances P Villalobos, Class of 1977
Juliet B Lao (Berdos), Class of 1977
Juliet Lao Kurek, Class of 1977
Lucia Malcampo Lucas-Chavez, Class of 1977
Ma Isabel Sanson (Bucoy), Class of 1977
Ma Jocelyn Mendoza-Reyes (Mendoza), Class of 1977
Maria Victoria, Class of 1977
Marissa Cabuyao, Class of 1977
Yolanda Nem Singh (Bisquera), Class of 1977
Jeng Crudo, Class of 1978
Margaret Arcangel (Ojeda), Class of 1978
Mary June G Bugante, Class of 1978
Mylene Pablo (Bello), Class of 1978
Anne Ardina (Jesus), Class of 1979
Doreena Annette Nazario-Villacrucis, Class of 1979
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Jackelynn San Luis Bernardo, Class of 1979
Marivic Pajaro, Class of 1979
Nining P Jalil, Class of 1979
Pinkie Macaso, Class of 1979
Sabrina Blanco (Arpa), Class of 1979
Blesilda Que Maadil (Que), Class of 1980
Mary Jane Bugante, Class of 1980
Nena C Talosig (Cornelio), Class of 1980
Nena C Talosig, Class of 1980
Rodelyn B Yahiya, Class of 1980
Tisha Lopez, Class of 1980
Bing Ibalio Caeh, Class of 1981
Lucy Molinos, Class of 1981
Natasja Rosal, Class of 1981
Pura Preciosa Ibalio Caeg (Baton), Class of 1981
Maria Theresa T Policarpio, Class of 1982
Mary Joanne Ibalio Reyes, Class of 1982
Sitti Sarah Sampang, Class of 1982
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Chichi Rivera, Class of 1983
Cristi Cabreros, Class of 1983
Laarni Pacamalan, Class of 1983
Ma Mindaluz Narciso (Mirafuente), Class of 1983
Vic Delfin Jr (Deslate), Class of 1983
Yvonne Del Mar, Class of 1983
Agnes Aileen Gonzales, Class of 1984
Catherine Marquez, Class of 1984
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Darlane A Sabellano (Antonio), Class of 1985
Madelyn M Perez, Class of 1985
Marites Butler Pascual, Class of 1985
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Mona Farrah M Ismael (Munding), Class of 1985
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Penny Francisco (Peran), Class of 1985
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Leader of US marines in rape trial testifies today

Tuesday, September 19 2006 @ 07:12 PM BST

National

S/Sgt Chad Carpentier, one of four American servicemen accused in the politically-charged Subic rape case, takes the witness stand today “without much need to prepare … not worried about slipping up or being manipulated by the prosecution.”

In fact, he and his co-accused look forward to days when there are hearings, he said in an e-mail interview.

“We get to see that this case is moving forward and making progress, and it consumes a good portion of the day which helps time go by faster.”

And “finally, that opportunity …for our side to be heard…has arrived,” he added.

“I am pleased with the way the proceedings have gone so far. I have been waiting for the opportunity for our side to be heard. We have chosen to refrain from speaking on this case to the media, and allow things to be heard and play out in court, finally that opportunity has arrived.”

While on trial, Carpentier and his co-accused marine buddies are on “confinement status” at a U.S. embassy facility, on custodial terms of the Philippine-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

Hearings on the case are heard every afternoon, except Wednesday, in the sala of Judge Benjamin Pozon of Branch 139 of the Makati Regional Trial Court in Makati City.

Carpentier is the second of the four U.S. marines to testify in the case filed by a Filipina woman identified as “Nicole,” who claimed that she was raped on Nov. 1, 2005 while inside a moving van in the former American military base in Subic, Olongapo City.

L/Cpl Daniel Smith, the man accused of directly raping her, was done with his testimony last week in which he claimed that what happened was consensual sex. Nicole testified that Carpentier, Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood reportedly cheered Smith on while raping her. They are considered accessories to the alleged crime.

Carpentier testifies after Nicole and her mother, Suzette Nicolas, left the courtroom in a huff last Thursday, complaining of the incompetence and negligence of the five-man prosecuting team of the Department of Justice (DOJ) assigned to her case. The team is led by Emelie Delos Santos.

The accuser’s family has been claiming they were coaxed last month by Delos Santos into settling with the Americans so that the VFA is not jeopardized. Small-crowd rallies near the courtroom building call for the scrapping of the VFA because, as one of their streamers stated, “the rape of Nicole is a rape of the Philippines.”

The VFA covers the terms of joint military exercises between the two countries. Carpentier and his co-accused were on shore leave from their ship, the USS Essex, when the alleged rape happened.

Militant supporters of the accuser further put a spin into allegations of offer of settlement by linking it to the visa status in the U.S. of former agriculture undersecretary.

Carpentier disclaims involvement in the reported offer of settlement. “I can assure you they did not originate from the defense, nor will we ever entertain that approach to this case. We did nothing wrong and will not entertain any talk of settlement,” he told the PNA.

“The militant groups have turned this into (a) the political and sensational case…. They have tried to make this a case of the U.S. versus RP and that is unfortunate. This case cannot and will not be judged on people’s ill feelings for one government or another. It will be judged solely on the basis of truthy.”

He added he “would be lying if I said I didn’t have a little resentment towards them (militants).”

At the same time, he downgraded Nicole’s evaluation of Delos Santos’ team as “unfounded and ridiculous” and volunteered the claims are “based on frustration with the fact that our side of the story is finally being heard.”

When Smith testified a week ago, he struck those inside the courtroom, including Jesuit priest, Father James Reuter, as cool, collected and coherent.

This riled and demoralized Nicole, her mother, and her private counsel, Atty. Evalyn Ursua, with Nicole later on admitting to reporters that she felt she was losing her case.

According to Carpentier, “Smith’s testimony was honest and accurate, that is why it came across as ‘cool, collected, and coherent.’”

“That is the difference between a witness that is speaking on the facts and (is) honest, vice someone trying to remember rehearsed testimony,” Carpentier continued.

“It was naive and ridiculous for (Nicole) and her mother to think this case could have gone through the judicial process without our side being heard,” said Carpentier, the acknowleged leader of the accused.

To Carpentier, it does not matter who composes the DOJ prosecuting team. “You can only make so much of nothing, and this team is trying to do (its) best to make a case where one doesn’t exist.”

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales did not replace any member of the team, which was back in harness Monday this week after a recess Friday following caused by Nicole’s tantrums.

But as the marines’ leader and spokesman, Carpentier said “it tears (him) apart to see and hear the way some people try to portray us.”

He said “Smith, Silkwood and Duplantis are just kids, they have there whole life ahead of them. It is devastating to see your name associated with such heinous accusations. We try to remember that the truth will come out and be heard, and our names will eventually be cleared.”

“When this case is over,” he said, “there will be no winner or loser, because five peoples’ (referring to themselves and Nicole) lives will be forever changed by the case.”

Now on their more than a half year of confinement inside a U.S. embassy compound, Carpentier said they spend much time reflecting, trying to maintain a positive attitude with the spiritual guidance of Father Reuter and other religious. “I used to ask and wonder how and why od would let this happen to me. However, Father Reuter has taught me that this is just a test from God, and He never lets anything happen that He can’t draw some greater good from.”

Giving a glimpse of their confinement, Carpentier said their “day-to-day activities are very limited at best. We are indeed in a confinement status so many of the freedoms we would normally enjoy we presently can’t.” Occasionally, they receive phone calls from family.

Despite his experience, he said he is comforted by the hospitality of the Filipinos and their adherence to justice and fair play.

“People always say to me ‘I bet you never want to come back here when this is over’, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I look forward to being able to further appreciate things here when I am no longer in a confined status and can further experience the culture,” he said.

“This case has not given me a bad taste for the Philippines; I don’t blame the Philippines for this happening to me,” he concluded. (PNA Features)

Nicole Tells Her Story

BY JHONG DELA CRUZ
Posted 8:12 p.m. July 6, 2006

In between sobs and tears, Subic rape victim Nicole told her story.

Seemingly nervous and at the brink of tears at the start of her testimony, Nicole was able to recall and narrate the events leading to the alleged November 1 rape incident that implicated four U.S. soldiers, who participated in joint military exercises last year.

Evalyn Ursua, Nicole’s lawyer, praised the victim for showing her inner strength during the four-hour trial.

“The flow went through as it should be, I think she was strong, but the real test for her is during the cross examination by the defense panel,” she said, referring to the continuation of her client’s testimony tomorrow at the sala of Judge Benjamin Pozon, Branch 139 of the Makati Regional Trial Court.

Nicole, who lived in Zamboanga City before moving to Manila for the trial, broke into tears when asked how her family treated U.S. soldiers who were the main patrons of their canteen. A ten-minute break was called to enable her to regain her composure.

“Hindi na sila iba sa amin, pinapakita namin na ka-pamilya na namin sila,” (We treat them as family.) she said after the break.

“Pinapahalagahan namin sila para hindi sila ma-homesick,” (We treat them well so they won’t feel homesick.) she said.

She revealed that she has a boyfriend, Brian Goodrich, a U.S. soldier with the 12th Marines Operations Platoon based in Okinawa, Japan.

Nicole said Carlos Ocasio and Chris Mills, from the U.S. Navy, invited her and her two half-sisters to take a vacation at Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales. She said that the two are friends of the family adding that they met them last July 2005.

A week before they went to Subic, she said that she talked with Goodrich on the phone. Nicole said that when she told Goodrich about their planned vacation, he told her it was okay and to take care.

Nicole, together with her two half sisters and two brothers, who joined them from Manila, visited Subic’s more popular tourist sites like Ocean Adventure, Subic Safari and Bat Kingdom during their four-day vacation arranged by Ocacio and Mills.

Nicole said that the rape incident took place on the third day, Nov. 1. In the courtroom, she positively identified Lance Corporal Daniel Smith as the perpetrator.

Smith was said to have been cheered by Lance Corporal Dominic Duplantis, Keith Silkwood and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier during the sexual assault inside a rented van.

Ursua said the rape victim’s testimony will be opened to the public tomorrow in response to criticisms that Nicole is being elusive.

To prepare Nicole for the cross examination tomorrow, Ursua said she told her client to remain calm and not to be distracted by the “theatrics” of the defense panel.

Nicole is being assisted by a therapist, members of Task Force Subic Rape, and Gabriela. Bulatlat

Nicole’s Fight is the Nation’s Battle

The rape of “Nicole” by four U.S. Marines in Subic, Zambales last year is not an issue confined to her. It has implications on the much-ballyhooed RP-U.S. “special relations.” The RP-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), one of the highlights of these “special relations,” serves as the basis of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) which grant extra-territorial and extra-judicial “rights” and provide basing arrangements to U.S. troops visiting the country for joint military “exercises.” These agreements violate constitutional provisions barring the presence of foreign troops on Philippine soil – which are among the portions to be affected by the charter change drive being pushed by the Arroyo administration – and, in the final analysis, are what pave the way for atrocities against the likes of “Nicole.” Nicole’s fight is, then, ultimately the nation’s battle.

Nicole’s Grit, Key to Her Search for Justice

As the trial of the Subic Rape Case approaches judgment, the complainant’s private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua hopes for a conviction for the four U.S. Marines sued for allegedly raping Nicole in November last year. On her client’s 23rd birthday celebration, the lawyer says that the case’s greatest strength is Nicole’s grit and determination to pursue justice against all odds, including a conflict with state prosecutors on a settlement issue.

BY DABET CASTAÑEDA
Bulatlat

Beaming in her black fitting pants and maroon blouse topped with a shimmering shawl, birthday girl Nicole was all smiles in the simple yet meaningful celebration of her 23rd birthday early evening of Sept. 22 at the Malate Church in Manila.

Nicole is the Filipino woman who sued four U.S. Marines for raping her last year inside a moving van at the Subic Bay Free Port in Olongapo City, province of Zambales (126 kms north of Manila). The Makati Regional Trial Court is still hearing the case with the defense down to its presentation of their last two witnesses.

“You are so beautiful,” her private lawyer Evalyn Ursua told Nicole as she handed her client a bunch of deep red and pink chrysanthemums that perfectly matched her outfit. As if to show her gratitude, Nicole responded with a tight hug and a simple, “Thank you.”

Strength

Over a hundred friends and supporters were present at the mass offered to Nicole and other victims of violence against women at the Malate church and during the birthday gathering at the third floor of the same place. The support thrown at Nicole at this stage of the trial is more significant as she is embroiled in a conflict with state prosecutors.

BIRTHDAY GREETING: “Nicole” hugs her private counsel Evalyn Ursua, who had come to greet her
on her 23rd birthday Sept. 22

PHOTO BY DABET CASTAÑEDA

As the defense started to present its witnesses last week, Nicole and her family walked out of the courtroom; accused state prosecutors of incompetence; and announced that they are boycotting future hearings until the Department of Justice (DoJ) replaces the prosecutors assigned to the case. Nicole’s mother then told the media that lead state prosecutor Fe de los Santos talked to her about settling the case as early as July. De los Santos, Nicole’s mother said, told her that Nicole’s case is part of a deal involving the case of former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “JocJoc” Bolante who is imprisoned in the U.S. for violation of immigration laws.

In response, De los Santos called Nicole and her mother as “ingrates” and told the media that “Nicole has been lying from the start.”

In an interview with Bulatlat, Ursua said the case’s greatest strength is Nicole’s determination to pursue justice.

Ursua also said she is confident with the evidences she has presented in court. “Ayaw namin masira (ang mga ebidensya) kaya namin hinihingi na mapalitan ang panel of state prosecutors,” (We do not want the evidences we presented to be wasted so we want the panel of state prosecutors replaced.) she said.

Late last week, Nicole requested the Department of Justice (DoJ) to replace the panel of state prosecutors except for Hazel Valdez. Justice Sec. Raul Gonzales has rejected the complainants request saying he has full trust on the DoJ panel.

Unethical

Ursua was particularly infuriated, she said, with the fact that the state prosecutors talked about a settlement with Nicole’s mother behind their backs.

“That is unethical,” Ursua said of the state prosecutors, “Habang naghahanda kami ng witnesses at inihahanda si Nicole sa kanyang testimony, ganun pala ang sinasabi nila behind our backs.” (While we were preparing the witnesses and Nicole for her testimony, they were saying something behind our backs.)

“I am the private prosecutor. Nicole is of legal age. So why not tell us? Why tell the mother?” Urusa added.

Ursua said she also found it unusual that she was “all of a sudden” taken out of the picture when the defense started its presentation of witnesses. “I do not want to conclude but it’s up to the public to connect the dots.”

The DoJ has to explain to the Filipino people, Ursua said, why it is willing to retain prosecutors who think that the complainant is lying. “How can you be prosecuting a case you do not believe in? That’s inconsistent and unethical. De los Santos has lost all moral authority to be part of the prosecution panel,” Ursua said.

One-sided

Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Nicole said she has been receiving electronic mails and telephone calls from her friends from the U.S. Marines and the U.S. Navy telling her to just “hold on.”

Nicole, who grew up in a U.S. military base in Zamboanga, southern Philippines, said she has made many friends from the U.S. Marines and Navy who participated in joint military training and exercises with its Filipino counterparts. In fact, it was her friend from the U.S. Marines, Chris Mills, who invited her and her siblings to go to Subic for a vacation last Nov. It was during that trip that Nicole was allegedly raped by Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith while three other American Marines allegedly cheered him on.

“Naniniwala sila (American friends) sa akin kasi kilala naman nila ako,” (They believe in me because they know me.) she said.

She said Mills, who was prevented from talking to Nicole before he testified in court, has emailed her several times after his testimony to “say hello and that he is sorry and guilty for what had happened.” But Nicole said she has repeatedly told Mills not to feel guilty “kasi hindi naman namin kasalanan ang nangyari.” (What happened is not our fault.)

Nicole’s family earned their living by tending a canteen which catered to U.S troops participating in joint military exercises. But Nicole has now realized that the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is “one-sided.”

The VFA is an agreement that covers the status, conduct and treatment of U.S. soldiers participating in joint exercises in the country. It paved the way for the conduct of a series of joint military exercises participated in by U.S. troops since its signing in 1999. The VFA provides that the U.S. will take custody of their soldiers accused of crimes committed in the Philippines during joint military exercises, sans objection by the Philippine government.

“Bakit pag tayo nagkaroon ng kasalanan sa ibang bansa kulong agad? Pag sila nagkasala dito nasa custody pa nila?” (Why is it that if Filipinos commit crimes in other countries we are jailed immediately? Why is it that if they (Americans) commit crimes here the U.S. still has custody over them?) Nicole asked. Bulatlat

American rape suspects might not return – Gonzalez

Sunday, 11 20, 2005

Despite assurance from the United States that the American soldiers accused of raping a Filipino woman in Subic would be presented before a court in Olongapo City, Zambales, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday expressed apprehensions that the six US Marines might not appear and if they have left the country might not return.

Gonzalez, during the weekly Kapihan sa Sulo forum at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City, said there is a possibility that the American servicemen may not appear before the Subic court where they were charged with rape.

“The danger is that they might not appear… they might abscond,” he told the

media forum even as he reiterated that the Arroyo government is in the process of asking the United States for custody of the six suspects.

Gonzales said the Department of Foreign Affairs has notified the United States government that the Philippine government “considers this (rape case) of prime importance.”

He refused to patch up his rift with private prosecutors who have accused him of protecting the American soldiers.

“I’d be happy to do the things that must be done by the prosecution. I’d be happy to support the cause of our country,” Gonzalez said.

He added he does not need to mend anything with lawyer Katrina Legarda, lead counsel of the private prosecutors.

“Why should I repair (with Legarda)? She was the one who accused me and her accusations were false,” Gonzalez said.

He added he was not inclined to grant the request of Legarda to transfer the hearings of the rape case from Olongapo City to the Department of Justice (DoJ) office in Manila.

The DoJ chief said the Rules of Court provide that the investigation shall be conducted by the prosecutor who has primary jurisdiction over the case.

“We will follow the Rules of Court. We are governed by laws, we must follow the rules. If you are a lawyer, you must know that primary jurisdiction is the area where the crime happened,” he pointed out.

Gonzalez said the least he can do is to assign the case to another prosecutor who is also based in Olongapo City, but, he added, he finds no reason to do it at the moment.

A prosecutor may only be relieved from a case if he showed any bias, Gonzalez said.

He added it would be unfair to Olongapo City prosecutor Raymund Viray to be relieved, considering that he has shown that he is up to the job.

At the same time, Gonzalez expressed hopes that the one-year deadline under the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) to resolve the rape case will be met.

The prosecutors, he said, would prevent any tactic that the lawyers for the US Marines will make to delay the proceedings, which start with the arraignment of the accused.

Gonzalez clarified that the “judicial proceedings” provided for in the VFA do not cover the preliminary investigation, which starts on Nov. 23.

He said “judicial proceedings” start after the six American soldiers have been arraigned.

But, according to a non-government group, the VFA favors the US government.

Connie Bragas Regalado of Migrante International also yesterday cited a statement made by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis giving more recognition to the United States government under the VFA is a clear manifestation that Seguis is siding with the Americans.

Regalado said Seguis’ statement to the legislative oversight committee on the VFA reveals that the DFA is “more concerned with the welfare of foreigners who commit crimes in Philippine territory, just as they favor employers and recruiters who abuse Filipino workers abroad.”

According to her, Seguis deserves disciplinary action “for technically being involved in the obstruction of justice by helping the US Marines to escape prosecution.”

During a Senate inquiry, the official said the Departrment of Foreign Affairs is holding consultations with the US Embassy in Manila for the turnover of the custody of the accused US servicemen.

There, however, were no apparent indications that show the six rape suspects will be placed under Philippine custody.

Regalado said the Arroyo administration “must impress” on the US government that justice must be served” to the alleged victim, a 22-year-old Filipino woman. Gerry Baldo and Marie A. Surbano

US investigator says team
found no evidence of rape

The US Navy team that conducted the initial investigation of the alleged rape by an American Marine of 22-year-old “Nicole” last November did not find any evidence of rape, a member of the team told the court yesterday.

Special agent Brian Curley said information was relayed to him by US Marine Corps public affairs officer Burrell Parmer showed that the complainant went to the Starex van with principal accused, Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, on her free will.

He said Parmer told him that the complainant even asked Smith that they finish what they were doing when the accused asked her to leave.

When state prosecutor Lagrimas Agaran asked where Parmer got the information, Curley said it came from Smith.

Smith had admitted to the NCIS that he had sexual intercourse with the complainant but said it was consensual.

Asked by defense counsel Enrico Uyehara if in the course of the investigation he came across evidence pointing to rape, Curley said, “I did not.”

He said Parmer told him a reporter of a broadsheet even sent a text message saying the rape complaint was a ploy of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority police to extort money from the accused.

The defense said Curley’s testimony showed there was another angle that was not pursued by SBMA authorities or the NCIS.

“The investigators, especially the NCIS should have pursued this and not focused on a single theory,” defense counsel Jose Justiniano said.

The prosecution said Curley’s testimony did not undermine its case.

Private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua said the important thing is that their witnesses were able to present a clear picture of the event.

The prosecution alleged that Smith raped “Nicole” inside the van while his co-accused S/Sgt Chad Carpentier, and Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis cheered him on.

The prosecution said the complainant was drunk, a fact that was attested by several of their witnesses including the guards at the Neptune Bar where the complainant met the accused.

Curley testified that he interviewed Carpentier and Smith at the Mandarin Hotel on Nov. 16.

He said that the two waived their rights to a counsel and allowed him to search personal belongings under a “permissive authorization for search and seizure order.”

Asked by prosecutor Lagrimas Agaran to explain the authorization, Curley replied that it is a “document (which) allows investigators to access personal spaces that they normally have to get search warrants for.”

The absence of a counsel triggered a dispute on whether the rules allow the waiving of the accused’s rights, prompting Makati regional trial court branch 139 Judge Benjamin Pozon to give the prosecution and defense to submit their memorandum in 15 days. — Ashzel Hachero

The Philippine STAR

Opinion

The tangled tale of the Subic ‘rape’ victim gets untangled
BY THE WAY By Max V. Soliven
Publication Date: [Friday, November 25, 2005]

Let’s face it. Our newspaper got nakuryente by a government source who maliciously, what other word will suffice, planted the false story that the 22-year old Zamboanga girl who’s accusing the US Marines of rape was a “no-show” and that she was wavering, perhaps ready to withdraw her case.

She will definitely not withdraw. This I got yesterday from my own lawyer, Rogelio A. Vinluan of ACCRALAW, who’s the victim’s counsel, aside from Atty. Katrina Legarda (also a former lawyer of ours in the Cory libel case versus the late Louie Beltran and this Publisher). Katrina, who’s been appearing on television and in the newspapers, is representing the aggrieved victim in her capacity as head of the Child Justice League, Inc., at the request of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the government itself, while Rolly Vinluan is counsel representing the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), not his law firm.

It’s definitely untrue that the victim was a no-show. Wednesday morning (Nov. 23), she went to office of Subic Prosecutor Raymond Viray accompanied by DSWD representatives, ready to sign an Affidavit against the six accused US Marines. For some strange reason, though, she was not accompanied by any of her lawyers.

In any event, Prosecutor Viray allegedly told her that there was no need to swear to another statement or sign any Affidavit, since her statement had already been entered in the earlier police inquiry. Anyway, that’s what this writer was told yesterday.

Is this true? Then why all the B.S. about her being a no-show?

What we hear from other sources is that the Department of Justice “hinted” that she ought to go directly to the office of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez in Manila to file her sworn statement with him – but the girl had been advised that a battery of photographers, TV cameramen and journalists, might be waiting to “ambush” her in the Justice building.

In any event, all will be clarified, hopefully, on Tuesday next week (November 29th) when a hearing will be held in the office of Olongapo City Prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni at which the six accused US Marines will also appear to swear to and file their Counter-Affidavits. The US Embassy has pledged to bring the Marines (now in detention under American custody in Manila) to the hearing.

Incidentally, Vinluan is being assisted by a legal team composed of two lady lawyers, last year’s Bar Topnotcher January Sanchez (UP 2004) and Zoraida Andam, a former Binibining Pilipinas, also from UP.

By way of interest, the accused American Marines are being represented, as well, by a group of brilliant lawyers from several law firms, e.g. SyCip Salazar, Rabe, (King) Rodrigo, Formoso & Formoso, etc. It’s a coincidence that the alleged victim’s lawyers are all from UP Law, while those representing the US Marines happen to be from the Ateneo College of Law, i.e. Atenistas. This is surely not a UP-Ateneo fight. It’s not basketball, or sports, but a serious matter of justice.

When all is said and done, why on earth should rumors be circulated that the victim is withdrawing her case, although every step is being taken to shield her identity up to the last possible minute? (Frankly, from our Zamboanga sources, we already know her name, but we’ll wait for her and her counsels to reveal it according to their own timetable).

From those who witnessed how the woman was unceremoniously dumped from the “suspected” van, unconscious, and in humiliating fashion, she and her family appear to have reason to be angry.

What’s disquieting, on the other hand, is why, when the “victim” was brought to the James Gordon Memorial Hospital, and reported to have suffered contusions and other “evidence” of molestation, no photographs were taken of her alleged injuries and other medico-legal evidence gathered. Will the prosecution thereby have to rely on the verbal testimony of the doctors and nurses who attended to the patient who had been rushed to their hospital by concerned Subic individuals and witnesses?

Or is there evidence existing which will be sprung only during the formal inquiry?

Are squid tactics being employed in this case?

There’s too much smoke being blown in everybody’s face in this over-hyped case, too many spurious leaks being fielded, and too much melodrama injected (along with radical Leftist propaganda).

They’ll hate me for making the observation, but I’ve got to do it in all honesty. It’s too pa-cute for several of the victim’s lady lawyers to have appeared at the preliminary investigation of the alleged gang-rape all dressed in black, parang nakaluksa, possibly trying to appear like “The Women in Black”. (Great shades those male Men in Black, Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith).

Alas, those ladies, otherwise attractive only contrived to make themselves look more like the Witches of Endor.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006
News

‘Nicole’ too ashamed to go home

First posted 10:01pm (Mla time) Oct 09, 2006
By DJ Yap
Inquirer

“NICOLE” has not been home for almost a year since that fateful night in Subic, when she was allegedly raped by a US Marine while his colleagues cheered on.

While the general public knows her only as Nicole, her true identity is no secret to her friends and neighbors in her hometown.

“I haven’t set foot in Zamboanga since it happened. I don’t think I can ever show my face there again,” Nicole said in an interview last week in a Quezon City restaurant.

“My old friends and neighbors in my hometown have been asking about me,” she continued in Filipino. “They’re always asking my relatives when I’m coming home, or assuring my relatives that they aren’t affected by what happened.”

Among her friends, ironically enough, are American servicemen holding military exercises in Mindanao. Her mother has also been trying to convince her to go home.

“But even if she’s forcing me to, I just can’t bring myself to do it,” Nicole said.

Now, her long-term plans include migrating to another country. “I just want to go some place where I won’t be recognized,” said the 23-year-old business graduate.

But “it’s not going to be the United States,” she said, although she has two aunts there.

Nicole said her life changed after the incident: “If none of this had happened, I would probably be married now.”

She was engaged to be married, but broke it off with her fiancé because she did not want “to jeopardize the case.”

Nicole recently celebrated her birthday with supporters from various women’s groups who have rallied around her cause.

It was a fun gathering, she said, although if the incident had not happened, she would have celebrated the occasion “back home with my American friends.”

These days, Nicole is staying in an undisclosed location in Metro Manila with her mother and two brothers. If not attending court hearings, which ended last week, she meets with supporters, exercises, or just stays home.

Like young women her age, Nicole finds time to go to bars and other gimmick places. “But I’m escorted everywhere by my brothers or my mother,” she said.

“If my mother was not so strict with me before, now she’s very strict,” she said, adding that she does not mind her family’s protectiveness.

The Subic rape case has been submitted for resolution before the sala of Makati judge Benjamin Pozon. He will promulgate his decision on November 27, a month before the case marks its first anniversary.

‘NICOLE’: MY PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED

MANILA, DECEMBER 5, 2006 (STAR) After the verdict was read yesterday, the woman known as Nicole thanked God for hearing her prayers, saying that God heard her plea for justice.

“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa Diyos na dininig niya ang dasal ko. Thank you Lord. Nagpapasalamat din po ako pati kay Judge Pozon. Judge Pozon ang bait ninyo,” Nicole said in an interview aired by GMA Channel 7.

She said that in her lonely search for truth and justice, she called to God and He did not fail her.

“Ang bait po talaga ng Diyos sa akin (God is really good to me),” she said.

Nicole, who wore a white hat to conceal her identity, held a rosary as the verdict was read.

Believing that her struggle to fight for justice finally paid off, Nicole also thanked Makati City Regional Trial Court Judge Benjamin Pozon yesterday for sending to jail one of four US Marines charged with raping her.

“Masaya naman ako kahit na-acquit yung tatlo (I’m happy even if the other three were acquitted),” she told The STAR in an interview hours after Lance Corporal Daniel Smith was brought to the Makati City Jail.

In another interview with ANC, Nicole said she is happy with Pozon’s decision even though the three other Marines were acquitted.

“Kakayanin ko lahat ano pang appeal nila,” she told ANC anchor Korina Sanchez when asked if she will continue the legal battle at the Court of Appeals.

Nicole, 23, said she wanted Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier to be convicted, “but it did not happen.” Carpentier and Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood were acquitted.

Nicole said she does not really know what she will do next nor what is in store for her since the case will still be brought before the Court of Appeals.

In interviews several days before Pozon issued a verdict convicting Smith of rape, Nicole said she plans to lead a new life abroad.

Nicole, though contented with Pozon’s decision, said the prosecution could have done better if only they had the testimony of the driver of the Hyundai Starex van where the rape took place on the night of Nov. 1 last year.

“Wala siyang konsensiya. Sana guluhin siya ng konsensiya niya (He has no conscience. I hope his conscience bothers him),” she said.

Nicole believes that if driver Timoteo Soriano Jr. testified in court, the three other accused would have been convicted as well.

Soriano refused to testify in court, whether for the prosecution or the defense, and invoked his right against self-incrimination.

His lawyer, Raulito Paras, argued that his client cannot be forced to testify in a case where he is also “technically an accused.”

Nicole also expressed concern over the consequences of having her real name broadcast live on national television because the court allowed cameras inside the courtroom.

She said she will ask her private lawyer, Evalyn Ursua, if anything can be done about it at all even though the damage has been done.

“We cannot do anything really. There was an oversight in the reading of the decision because the full name of the private complainant was read while the promulgation was being covered live,” Ursua said in a separate interview.

She appealed to members of media to “comply with law protecting Nicole. Please edit the footage and call the private complainant Nicole.”

Meanwhile, Smith arrived at the Makati City Jail (MCJ) late yesterday afternoon where he will serve his 40-year sentence unless the US and Philippine governments agree on holding him elsewhere, which is allowed under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

“We turned him over to the MCJ where he was subjected to another medical examination. Inaayos pa mga papel niya and other belongings doon (His documents and other belongings are still being prepared),” Makati city police chief Superintendent Gilbert Cruz said.

He added that Smith’s records will be processed for a file folder before he will be given a prisoner number and a permanent cell.

Cruz, who personally supervised security measures inside and around the old Makati City Hall building during yesterday’s promulgation of judgment, took custody of the 21-year-old US Marine after the verdict was issued.

US Embassy escorts who surrounded Smith after the decision was read initially refused to surrender custody of the American soldier to the local police, resulting in a brief scuffle. — Michael Punongbayan

Nicole goes on retreat; Smith gets fan mail

By Tarra Quismundo
Inquirer
Last updated 08:04pm (Mla time) 12/10/2006

A WEEK since the historic Subic rape case came to a dramatic close, the convicted US Marine and his Filipino accuser continue to lead separate but intertwined lives in a world on constant watch.

Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith marks his first week at the Makati City Jail (MCJ) on Monday (Dec. 11) as his accuser, 23-year-old “Nicole,” spends time away from friends and family in an undisclosed retreat place just outside of Metro Manila.

Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Benjamin Pozon found the 21-year-old Smith guilty of raping the complainant on board a moving van at the Subic Bay Freeport before midnight on Nov. 1, 2005.

Getting little sleep at the records section of the MCJ, a separate room where he has been held for security reasons, Smith has been reading inspirational books and letters of support sent by sympathizers through his lawyers.

“He’s gotten noticeably thinner but he’s in good spirits because he’s been getting a steady stream of support to get through this,” said Joan de Venecia, one of Smith’s lawyers.

De Venecia told the Inquirer that Smith has been receiving letters from strangers — men, women, office employees, lawyers, admirers – who wanted to instill hope in the young Marine, the only one of four accused Marines found guilty of the heinous crime.

Besides reading a stack of devotional books brought to him by US Embassy staff, Smith read the letters more than once to take in the optimism of letter senders and study their legal advice for his appeal.

“He told me that that’s the reason why he could not find it in his heart to bear any grudge towards Filipinos, because there are still those who continue to give him support,” said De Venecia, who noted that Smith would occasionally smile during her visits.

Nicole, meanwhile, decided to be in the company of the prayerful in a retreat house near Metro Manila, said her mother. Her lawyer, Evalyn Ursua, requested that her location be withheld.

Nicole turns 23; her wish: Justice

First posted 02:45:34 (Mla time) September 23, 2006
Tarra Quismundo
Inquirer

WHEN “Nicole” turned 22 last year, she marked the occasion with a memorable party at her family’s canteen in the company of her closest friends, most of them US Marines.

Her 23rd birthday yesterday was a total turnaround, with her now up against four US Marines in a landmark rape case that Filipino women’s groups consider as a symbol of the prevailing American arrogance over a former colony.

There was no prior announcement that Nicole planned to attend yesterday’s hearing. But an hour before the 1 p.m. hearing was to start, she showed up with her mother and 23 of her sympathizers at the back of the old Makati City Hall, where hearings have been held since the trial began in June.

The visit was quite brief.

Members of Task Force Subic Rape, a women-led coalition of 17 organizations, gave her the biggest butter cake they could get. On it was inscribed: “Justice for Nicole, Justice for our Nation.”

Her face barely concealed by a fisherman’s hat and sunglasses, she blew out her birthday candles and made her only wish—justice.

Later in a phone interview with the Inquirer, Nicole said: “I have come to better know how [US Marines] really are, although I am not saying they are all like that. There are others who know how to respect women. But somehow, I became dismayed with them [in general] after what happened to me.”

She said that despite it being her birthday, she could not help but keep her mind on the case, especially in the light of her unsettled dispute with the public prosecutors arguing her case.

“It is hard to celebrate, to be happy, with all that is happening. I know that there are still many who believe in me, who support me, and I appreciate that. But I am still sad because I still think about the case,” she said, adding:

“I hope that even if it’s the defense now presenting evidence, I will get justice.”

And how has she changed since her last birthday?

“I think I am more mature now in that I chose to fight instead of just being silent. I want to show them that I can fight them,” Nicole said.

ALLEGED SUBIC RAPE
Evidence against 6 US Marines is strong–RP authorities

First posted 02:25pm (Mla time) Nov 04, 2005
By Veronica Uy
INQ7.net

Subscribe to Breaking News alerts, send ON EXTRA BREAKING to 2207 for Globe, or send EXTRA BREAKING to 386 for Smart.

THE EVIDENCE is strong against six American servicemen accused of gang-raping a 22-year-old Filipina inside the sprawling Subic Bay commercial hub north of Manila, Philippine authorities have said.
“There was obviously no consent,” Zosimo Paredes, executive director of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFACOM), said of the alleged All Saints’ Day rape by US Marines on liberty, inside the Freeport that once served as a military base for the United States.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Armand Arreza told INQ7.net in a phone interview Friday that there were witnesses, including the Filipino driver of a rented van where the alleged rape took place.
A condom was even found inside the van, said Arreza.
On Thursday, the six Marines, who participated in joint counterterrorism exercises in the Philippines, were barred from boarding their departing ship after a witness identified them as the culprits in the alleged gang rape.
A complaint filed with the Olongapo prosecutor’s office identified the servicemen as Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Dominic Duplantis, Corey Barris, and Chad Carpenter.
Charges have already been filed against them Thursday afternoon, Arreza said, with the preliminary hearing set early next week, possibly Monday.
“We have requested that the case be expedited in the interest of both parties,” he said.
Paul Jones, US chargé d’ affaires, said Thursday the suspects “are currently in the Philippines under the responsibility of the US embassy in Manila.”
The SBMA is extending legal and even accommodation assistance to the woman, who is from Zamboanga and just spending a vacation in Subic, said Arreza.
“She’s staying until the preliminary hearing,” he said, adding that the woman’s brother have already arrived in Subic from Mindanao, and with their parents expected to arrive this weekend.
Authorities said the six Marines met the Filipino woman on Tuesday in Subic Bay, a former US naval base that has been transformed into an industrial and recreational hub.
The alleged victim was in a karaoke bar when she met the Americans who invited her to go with them in a rented van.
A few hours later, witnesses said they saw the woman being dumped unconscious from a van on a road, the SBMA said in a statement.
The woman is said to be from a well-off family in the southern Philippine province, said a foreign affairs official who asked not to be named. He added that the six accused Americans are not officers, but enlisted personnel.

“We were able to successfully convince them not to leave with the ship, but we couldn’t keep them because there were no arrest warrants issued yet,” Arreza said.
“We don’t have that authority. It is the courts that issue them,” he said.
In case arrest warrants will be served, it is the Department of Justice that will serve them, he said.
Arreza his office has already referred the results of SBMA’s investigation to the government prosecution and judicial authorities.
At the same time, a US-Philippine relations expert from the Department of Foreign Affairs, who asked not to be named, said the case is “one of the worst case scenarios you could expect under the VFA.”
The Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is the document that details the rules on the treatment of US armed forces visiting the Philippines for training, joint military exercises with Philippine troops, and the like.
Ratified by the Philippine Senate in May 1999, the agreement gives the US military access to Philippine ports and airports for refueling, supplies, repairs, and rest and recreation.
The agreement also covers situations where US troops are in the country for joint exercises or shore leave.

Friday, November 04, 2005

5 US soldiers held on rape charges

Five US servicemen have been detained and are being investigated by the Philippine and US governments for the alleged rape of a local woman during joint military exercises, officials said Thursday.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said that he was “deeply concerned” about the allegations and that he would “support all efforts by our authorities to investigate, prosecute and try this case.”

“The perpetrators of this heinous crime shall be brought to justice,” Romulo said.

The unnamed suspects are in the custody of the US Embassy in Manila, the embassy said in a statement.

It said that both sides would work together to “determine the facts of the case,” and that the US government would “fully cooperate with the Philippine authorities in the investigation of this incident.”

The alleged rape of the 22-year-old Filipina took place on November 1 following joint military exercises in Subic, a former US naval base north of Manila.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority said the alleged victim had been visiting a karaoke bar when she met the Americans, who invited her to go with them in a rented van.

A few hours later, witnesses said they saw the woman being dumped unconscious from a van on a road, the Authority said in a statement.

US troops who take part in joint exercises here are subject to a Visiting Armed Forces Agreement that provides special legal protection for actions taken as part of the war games but provides less protection for crimes committed while on leave.
–AFP

5 public prosecutors to stay on in Subic trial–DoJ chief
First posted 17:54:01 (Mla time) 2006-09-18
Joel Guinto Tetch Torres
INQ7.net

(2ND UPDATE) THE FIVE public prosecutors assigned to represent a Filipina who accused four US Marines of rape will stay on, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said in a memorandum he issued Monday.
Gonzalez issued the directive in response to a request by “Nicole,” a court-appointed pseudonym for the victim, and her mother to replace four of the five government lawyers for alleged incompetence.
Senior State Prosecutor Emelie Fe Delos Santos had called “Nicole” and her mother “ungrateful, ingrate, and crazy” and accused their private lawyer Evalyn Ursua of allegedly influencing them to go against her and her colleagues.
INQ7.net has been trying to reach Ursua for her comment as of posting time.
“You are directed to remain as panel of prosecutors and continue to represent the People of the Philippines…Your panel shall remain in control of the entire criminal proceedings,” Gonzalez said in his order.
Citing doctrinal pronouncements of the Supreme Court, Gonzalez said, “The intervention of the offended party or his counsel while authorized is, however, subject to the provision of Section 5 Rule 110 that all criminal actions whether commenced by complaint or by information shall be prosecuted under the direction and control of the fiscal.”
“Nicole” has accused the public prosecutors of incompetence and sought their replacement after she claimed that one of them, Nolibien Quiambao, mishandled his cross-examination last week of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, the principal accused.
Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño said in a separate interview Monday that the prosecutors were “competent to handle the case. They were handpicked to handle the case.”
The five, led by Delos Santos, appeared in Monday’s hearing at the Makati regional trial court where the defense presented Teresita Sanchez, a gynecologist, as its third witness.
Despite their client’s allegations, Delos Santos said that “up to the last minute, we will fight for the case of Nicole even though she doesn’t want to fight for herself.”
“After all we’ve done, we built up this case, then this ingratitude on the part of the complainant and her mother,” Delos Santos told reporters covering the trial.
“The complainant is just a witness in this case even if she does not cooperate, the hearings will continue,” Delos Santos said.
At the same time, Delos Santos accused Ursua, “Nicole’s” private lawyer, of influencing her client to go against them.
In a press conference, Delos Santos alleged that Ursua was trying to get back at them after The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (Towns), of which Ursua is a member, withdrew a 300,000-peso assistance that it was supposed to give to “Nicole.”
Delos Santos said it was not clear why the TOWNS, a civic group, withdrew its offer.
Delos Santos also noted that it was “Nicole’s” mother who was curious about what they would be getting if there would be negotiations on the case.
“She asked me if there are negotiations, how it will be done. I told her that we, the public prosecutors are not part of such negotiations because our duty is only to pursue the criminal aspect of the case,” Delos Santos said.
“Then, on another day she asked me if there will be money involved or a US visa can be included if there will be a negotiation. I told her to talk to her family. I reminded her [the mother] that she is not the victim, it’s her daughter, who is of age,” Delos Santos said.
“She asked me for an advice and I gave her the best advice,” she added.
Earlier in the day, Delos Santos called “Nicole” and her mother “ungrateful, ingrate, and crazy.”
Delos Santos recalled how “Nicole” and her mother even thanked them for doing a good job after defense witness Lance Corporal Justin Michael Bamburger’s testimony favored the prosecution.
“They even thanked us last Tuesday for doing a good job, then on Thursday, I don’t know why she [Nicole's mother] suddenly got crazy,” said Delos Santos.
“I am so angry at these ingrates, ungrateful, barefaced people,” she added.
Delos Santos also denied the allegation of “Nicole’s” mother that her daughter’s case could be a trade off for former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante’s case.
“Joc-joc is a big joke. It is not even being handled by the Department of Justice. Our level is very low to handle a case like that,” Delos Santos said.
Bolante, an ally of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is on trial before a US court after he was arrested for carrying a cancelled visa.
Bolante has a standing warrant of arrest from the Philippine Senate, which is investigating his involvement in the alleged transfer of fertilizer funds worth millions of pesos to Arroyo’s campaign kitty in the 2004 election.
Copyright 2006 INQ7.net and content partners.. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

‘Nicole’ ready to start over, prefers work abroad

First posted 18:52:44 (Mla time) 2006-12-05
Tetch Torres Teresa Cerojano
INQ7.net Associated Press

(UPDATE) A DAY after a local court found a US Marine guilty of rape, his victim said she was ready to start over and that she preferred a job abroad where people did not know her.

At the same time, “Nicole,” a court-appointed pseudonym, said she could only feel “pity” for Lance Corporal Daniel Smith who was convicted Monday before the Makati regional trial court of raping her at the Subic Bay Freeport on Nov. 1, 2005.

She also said that she was bracing for an extended legal battle after Smith appealed his conviction and 40-year sentence.

“Nicole” told a press conference that she was ready to start over.

“I’d like to find a job preferably abroad where people have no idea what happened to me,” “Nicole” said.

Although “Nicole” had not decided what country she would go to, she kidded that she hoped that the US won’t deny her a visa if she would apply for one.

When asked what she had felt for Smith after the verdict was handed down, “Nicole” said, “I felt pity for him.”

“I am only human. I did feel pity for him. Like me, he is still very young. But of course if he hasn’t done it, all these would never happen,” she said.

“That is the law, he [Smith] should be punished,” “Nicole” said, adding the US serviceman should not be given special treatment.

“Nicole” reiterated however that she was not ready to forgive Smith.

“Forgiveness? Not now,” “Nicole” said, adding that Smith has to admit first that she is telling the truth.

“Nicole” said that she and her family would spend Christmas in Manila. She said she was still reluctant to return to the province of Zamboanga where she had been living before incident.

Smith, from St. Louis, Missouri, was immediately whisked away to a Manila jail after the court issued the verdict Monday, capping a long emotional trial that resurrected controversies linked to the US military presence in the Philippines. Three other Marines — Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier — were acquitted.

One of Smith’s lawyers, Benjamin Formoso, said the Marine “was in shock. He was crying yesterday when he talked to his parents.”

He said he filed an appeal after the verdict Monday and another petition may be filed before the Supreme Court to seek US custody of Smith –although he admitted that diplomatic channels may be a faster way to solve the thorny issue of custody.

Smith spent the night at the city jail of Makati, Manila’s financial district, where he was confined in a room separate from other prisoners for security reasons, said warden Superintendent Delvic Oriero.

“He’s still tense, he’s hanging on,” said Enrico Uyehara, a lawyer for one of the acquitted Marines who visited Smith. He said Smith told him he had trouble sleeping.

The case has tested a joint military pact that paved the way for US counterterrorism training, which was credited with helping local forces make gains against Muslim extremists.

Left-wing groups have staged regular protests outside the US Embassy, claiming the American servicemen were getting special treatment that undercut the country’s sovereignty.

Zosimo Paredes, head of the Philippines’ Visiting Forces Agreement Commission, said the agreement was clear that after all appeals are exhausted, Smith would be detained in the Philippines.

But it was less clear whether he should have been handed over to Philippine police. Smith had been in custody of the US Embassy until Monday’s verdict, and according to US and Philippine officials, US authorities can hold him until all legal appeals are exhausted.

A Philippine police official said it appeared there had been a misunderstanding after the judge ruled that he should be temporarily held in the Makati jail.

A scuffle briefly broke out in the courtroom Monday between US Embassy security personnel and local police. After some pushing and shoving, Philippine police took hold of Smith and led him away in handcuffs.

“Nicole” accused Smith of sexually assaulting her while she was drunk on November 1 last year, with Carpentier, Silkwood, and Duplantis allegedly cheering him on. Smith testified that the sex was consensual.

Copyright 2006 INQ7.net and content partners.. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

‘Bribe offered to silence us’ — witness
06/27/2006
The family of the 22-year-old Filipino woman who filed rape charges against four United States military servicemen was offered an undetermined amount of money in exchange for the dropping of the case against the accused.
Ana Lisa Franco, the stepsister of the com-plainant, during the continuation of her testi-mony, yesterday told the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) that one of the officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) approached them and offered money to settle the charges against the US Marines, but that she had refused it.
She identified the alleged “mediator” as Ben Natividad, executive assistant of SBMA chief Feliciano Salonga.
Franco said the offer was made on Nov. 2, 2005, the day after the alleged assault, at the Investigation and Intelligence Office (IIO) of the SBMA.
Private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua, for her part, said, “There was an effort to silence the family. There was an offer of payment (made) to them although it (amount) was not specified.”
She added the person
who allegedly offerred settlement if it was intended for giving up the case against Lance Cpls. Daniel Smith, Chad Carpentier, Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood.
“The witness (Franco) did not say how much, but it happened inside the IIO in SBMA where they were asked to just settle the case,” Ursua said.
The prosecutor stressed Franco’s testimony regarding alleged settlement only disproved all rumors circulating against the girl’s family that they are just interested in money.
“This just proves that the family is not after settlement of any amount,” Ursua added.
She pointed out the circumstances surrounding the “offer” was kept secret by Franco and “Nicole,” the complainant, for fear of retaliation against their family.
Jose Justiniano, Silkwood’s lawyer, said the first time he heard the name Natividad was when Pacquito Torres of SBMA’s IIO informed him Natividad had indicated that six Americans were being charged with rape.
The defense also tried to discredit the testimony of Franco by casting doubts on her claim that Nicole was already drunk when she was taken out of the Neptune Club, loaded into the Starex van where she claimed she was raped and dumped half-naked into a parking lot.
Franco admitted she and the complainant had taken four types of drinks ordered for them by US Navy friend Christopher James Mills despite the fact that those were “unfamiliar” to them.
She said she had seen her dizzy sister consume half a pitcher of “bullfrog” straight while being cheered on by unfamiliar Americans.
Justiniano, however, claimed the fact that the sisters testified they already felt dizzy after consuming several rounds of liquor and still refused to go back to the hotel speaks something out of normal.
“It’s not normal for a person to go to an unfamiliar club, much more to order and drink wine that is unfamiliar to them,” he said.
“If they were not drinkers, they (sisters) should have taken fruit juice drinks instead of allowing others to order unfamiliar drinks for them,” the defense lawyer added.
Ursua, however, said the questions and issues raised by the lawyers of the accused were immaterial to the case, such as Justiniano’s delving into the details of the drinks ordered by Franco and Nicole the night of the alleged assault.
She added being drunk and having a good time are not relevant to the crime of rape.
Ben Gines Jr.

Thursday, October 05, 2006
Nicole’s mom insists prosecutor offered ‘new life in US’ for them
MANILA — The lead prosecutor handling the Subic rape case has promised a new life in America for Nicole and her family if she will agree to a compromise settlement of the case.

In a sworn statement submitted to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Jr., Nicole’s mother said Senior State Prosecutor Emilie Fe delos Santos invited her to a meeting in a coffee shop in Makati last July 17 at 5 p.m. to discuss the proposed settlement.

In a letter, Nicole, who was allegedly raped by four US servicemen, appealed Wednesday to the justice department to replace a team of government prosecutors handling the case, which the justice secretary refused.

The affidavit of Nicole’s mother and brother detailing the alleged attempts to settle the case out of court were attached in her letter request to replace the government prosecutors assigned to her case.

The affidavit has been turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which was tasked to look into allegations that the prosecutors had offered to settle the rape case against the US Marines in exchange for the freedom of former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante.

Bolante, alleged architect of the P728 million fertilizer fund scam, is currently detained in the US in connection with his cancelled B1-B2 visa.

During that meeting, delos Santos supposedly told the complainant’s mother that the family of the four accused US servicemen have agreed to a settlement.

The state prosecutor reminded her about Nicole’s testimony in open court that because of the rape, she’s ashamed of going back to Zamboanga City and she wanted to reside in another place.

She further narrated that delos Santos persuaded her to name a sum of money, which her family could use should they decide to migrate to the US to start anew.

She also said delos Santos further told her that they should agree to settle before US authorities put in the pressure in exchange for Bolante’s freedom.

When she asked if other members of the prosecution panel knew of the proposed “amicable settlement” of delos Santos, the mother said no and saying she was the only one privy to it.

Last July 28, delos Santos again called her up and told her to immediately apply for a US visa at the embassy to expedite the processing of her immigration papers.

She said she decided not to tell her daughter about the meeting for fear that it might dishearten her.

Last Sept. 11, when principal accused Lance Corporal Daniel Smith was to be cross-examined by the prosecution, she asked delos Santos to allow private counsel Evalyn Ursua to cross-examine him but the lead counsel refused and told her that it was the instruction of Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño.

Their dissatisfaction with the performance of the panel prompted the complainant’s camp to ask the justice office to replace the members of the panel except for State Prosecutor Hazel Valdez but Gonzalez rejected it.

The justice department likewise denied forging any agreement to settle the rape case against the four US Marines — Smith, Chad Carpentier, Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood — adding that some anti-administration groups such as Gabriela may have been “peddling lies” to the family of Nicole to inflame the situation.

Gonzalez earlier ordered the NBI to look into the allegations of a trade-in of the case for Bolante’s release to erase the negative public perception generated by the dispute between the complainant and the state prosecutors.

Among those covered by the investigation were Nicole’s mother and brother as well as the five-member panel led by delos Santos and public counsels Valdez, State Prosecutors Noli Quiambao, Elizabeth Berdal and Lagrimas Agaran. (Sunnex

Subic rape victim, family running out of money

The Philippine Star 06/22/2006

The legal battle between the 22-year-old Filipina and the four US Marines whom she has accused of raping her is costing her and her family money.

All four accused US Marines — Lance Corporals Daniel Smith, Dominic Duplantis, Keith Silkwood, and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier — have been attending the trial proceedings since June 2.

Twelve days into the marathon hearings, “Nicole” now owes stenographers at the Makati City regional trial court (RTC) some P10,000.

Private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua said the legal funds “Nicole” has been receiving from supporters are not enough, and are fast running out.

Ursua said copies of stenographic notes alone, which provide prosecution lawyers with a transcript of each hearing, cost more or less P2,000 each trial day.

“It’s P10 per page,” she said. “We have to buy it. Transcripts cost us P2,000 a day which translates to P8,000 a week.”

Ursua said paying for copies of stenographic notes is just “the tip of the iceberg,” since prosecuting the Subic rape case will require funding for other litigation costs.

“That’s plus transportation of witnesses and lawyers plus meals plus paper, photocopying, ink, mailing and investigation expenses,” she noted.

Six different stenographers from other Makati courts record the proceedings at the Subic hearings, according to Judge Liza Marie Picardal-Tecson of Hagonoy, Bulacan metropolitan trial court, former clerk of court of Makati Judge Benjamin Pozon, who is hearing the rape case.

Tecson said at least two stenographers attend each hearing so that the second can fill in for the other so that each and every detail is recorded accurately.

The Rules of Court allow stenographers to charge for copies of stenographic notes as an added income, while a percentage goes to the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Supreme Court, she said. — Michael Punongbayan

SBMA consultant denies telling Nicole to accept ‘payment’

First posted 19:17:42 (Mla time) 2006-06-27
Veronica Uy
INQ7.net GMA7

(2ND UPDATE) A CONSULTANT of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has denied that he advised the camp of a Filipina who accused four US servicemen of rape to just accept “payment” instead of filing a case against them, according to a report on GMA Network’s ”Flash Report”.

Ben Natividad disputed on Tuesday a claim by the complainant’s stepsister, Anna Liza Franco, that he issued such a statement following the alleged incident last year that implicated Lance Corporals Daniel Smith, Keith Silkwood, and Dominic Duplantis; and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier, according to the report.

Franco testified before the Makati regional trial court on Monday that before the victim, identified in media as “Nicole,” could lodge her complaint, three Filipinos, including Natividad, had added to her stepsister’s ordeal.

The other two were a woman doctor who sneered at Nicole’s story and an eyewitness who initially denied having seen the victim.

Earlier on Tuesday, a bartender of the Neptune Club enumerated the ingredients of the alcoholic drinks the complainant drank the night of the alleged incident.

Evalyn Ursua said the testimony of bartender Roger Sanidad was meant to illustrate the potency of the concoctions downed by the complainant, “Nicole,” the evening of November 1, 2005.

The defense maintains that Smith had consensual sex with Nicole.

But the prosecution contends Nicole was too drunk to have consented to sex.

The drinks, as enumerated by earlier prosecution witnesses, including Franco, were Vodka Sprite, Long Island Iced Tea, B-52, Singapore Sling, and Bullfrog. These witnesses said Nicole drank half a pitcher of Bullfrog aside from at least a shot each of the other drinks.

Sanidad described Vodka Sprite as one part vodka and three parts Sprite; Long Island Iced Tea is vodka, gin, tequila, white rum, triple second, lemon juice, and coke; B-52 is Kahlua, Bailey’s, and Grand Marnier; Singapore Sling is gin, cherry brandy, lemon juice, and soda water; and Bullfrog is vodka, gin, pineapple juice, Sprite, and lime juice.

He said Vodka Sprite was served in an eight-ounce glass, B-52 and Singapore Sling in a 25-milliliter shot glass, Long Island Iced Tea, and Bullfrog in a 10-ounce glass.

Sanidad said Bullfrog was also served by the pitcher.

Meanwhile, Franco, taking the witness stand for the third time, was grilled by defense lawyers who tried to demolish her testimony on the circumstances surrounding the alleged rape.

Defense lawyers Jose Justiniano and Francisco Rodrigo asked Annaliza Franco why she did not stop her stepsister Nicole from drinking alcoholic drinks on several instances before and on the night of the alleged rape.

On cross examination, Franco admitted that on October 30, 2005, Nicole had downed two shots of Vodka Sprite, one after the other, on a bet with their American serviceman friend Christopher Mills.

She also recalled for the court the details of the time they spent at the Neptune Club on November 1 before Nicole disappeared.

“There were no dramas today,” private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua said, reiterating her previous statements that regardless of the state of Nicole’s inebriation, she should not have been raped.

“Even a very drunk person lying in bed should not be raped,” she said.

After the hearing, Justiniano told reporters that a book called Legal Medicine by Pedro Solis would prove that the moral standards of a person who has downed alcoholic beverages, which are considered toxic, are lowered.

The cross examination on Franco is not yet over but she will not take the witness stand on Thursday as she has to return home to Zamboanga.

US Marine charged with rape in RP wants to clear his name

First posted 22:16:48 (Mla time) 2006-10-04
Associated Press

A US MARINE charged with raping a Filipino woman on Wednesday said he would not agree to any settlement of the case because he wants to prove his innocence and clear his name.

Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, 21, from Thibodaux, Louisiana, told a Manila television station that he was confident a Makati court handling the case would acquit him and three other Marines of the rape charges.

The alleged victim, who turned 23 last month, has testified that she was too drunk and weak when Smith assaulted her inside a moving van on November 1, while Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier, Lance Corporal Keith Silkwood and Lance Corporal Dominic Duplantis allegedly cheered him on. If convicted, all four face a maximum of 40 years in jail.

“It’s just natural for somebody to be scared of (being found guilty) when they put their lives on somebody else’s hand, but knowing that I’m innocent, it’s just completely off the wall … for anybody to decide that we were guilty,” Smith told GMA News.

“Even if there was an attempt to settle, I wouldn’t want to because this is my life here and I’m being accused of what I feel is the worst thing anybody can be accused of,” he said, reacting to allegations by the complainant’s mother that prosecutors tried to talk her into agreeing to a settlement. “I would like my name to be cleared.”

Smith maintains the sex was consensual, and his fellow marines have backed up his testimony. However, prosecution witnesses have testified the alleged victim was drunk and had to be carried on Smith’s back into the van, then carried out of the van and left on a sidewalk, with her pants down.

Judge Benjamin Pozon of the Makati Regional Trial Court said he expects to hand down his ruling by next month.

“I just want to point out to him that he abused me so I filed a case against him,” the alleged victim told GMA News, whose video showed only her mouth as she spoke in reaction to Smith’s comments. “He picked up the wrong girl … I would really fight.”

The case has stirred emotions in the former American colony and resurrected controversies linked to the U.S. military’s presence in the Philippines, which has been credited with helping Filipino troops crush Muslim militants in the country’s restive south.

US Marine accused of rape in RP hopes ‘lies will stop’
First posted 17:25:55 (Mla time) 2006-07-17
Associated Press

A 21-year-old US Marine accused of raping a Filipino woman has said the case has ruined his life and career.
“I think it’s horrible what I’ve been accused of,” Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, of St. Louis, Missouri, said in response to questions submitted through his lawyer by The Associated Press.
“This place has taken a year off of my life that I can never get back and I just hope the lies will stop and the people will start to see the truth,” Smith said in the answers faxed to the AP by his lawyer Sunday.
He refused to answer questions related to the case because court proceedings are still ongoing. The US Embassy, which has custody of the Marines, has restricted media contact with Smith and the other accused.
Smith, along with three other Marines accused in the case, refused to enter pleas to the rape charges, so the judge entered not guilty pleas on their behalf. If convicted, they face a maximum 40 years in jail.
“My career and my life in general has come to a screeching halt,” he said.
Smith said his family and friends initially thought he was joking when he first told them he had been charged with rape.
“They are all praying for the day that I tell them I’m cleared of all of these allegations and that I will be coming home to see them,” said Smith, the second of three sons of a nurse and a firefighter.
“We have always been a really close family and I can’t wait to get back and see them once all this is cleared up,” said Smith.
Smith, during a chance interview in court, had earlier said it would be too expensive for his parents to fly to the Philippines for the trial, and that they could not afford to leave their jobs. But he said he would call home a lot to talk to family and friends.
A 22-year-old woman has accused Smith of raping her in a moving van at the Subic Bay free port, a former US Naval base, on November 1 while Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier, Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood and Lance Cpl. Dominic Duplantis allegedly cheered him on.
She testified that she resisted, but was drunk and too weak to stop the assault.
Defense lawyers said the woman and Smith had consensual sex.
Smith said when he was not in court for the hearings, which are held four days a week, he listens to music and swaps stories with his co-accused.
He and Silkwood also attend services held by visiting pastors, and “that helps us with a positive outlook on all of this,” he said
Smith said he joined the Marines in 2004, two days after his high school graduation, to get a jump start on life and to help pay for a college education.
He said he was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. The Marines had just finished counterterrorism maneuvers with Philippine troops when the alleged rape took place.

‘We’ll fight to the end’

First posted 01:20:21 (Mla time) 2006-09-17
Volt Contreras Armand Nocum
Inquirer

THE Filipino woman accusing four US Marines of rape stood firm yesterday against any settlement of the case and wondered whether the government was “really interested in getting justice” for her.

In a statement issued last night, the 22-year-old “Nicole” declared: “My fight will be until the very end.” It was her second time this week to speak out over what she and her mother said was the “incompetence” displayed by the public prosecutors assigned by the Department of Justice to argue her case, particularly during the cross-examination of her alleged rapist, Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith.

The two-page statement faxed to the Inquirer was issued a day after Nicole’s mother claimed that Senior State Prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos, the chair of the public prosecution panel, “proposed” as early as July that the complainant enter into a settlement with the accused. (Reached by the Inquirer in Biliran on Friday, De los Santos issued a vehement denial and described the claim as “blackmail.”)

“I am very much interested in pursuing my case,” Nicole said in the statement. “From the very beginning, my mind was set to pursue the case and not be influenced by other people, by any means.”

She said she had called for the replacement of four of the five public prosecutors because she was “extremely disappointed” with the cross-examination of Smith by Nolibien Quiambao, the lone man on the team.

“It was obvious that the state prosecutor did not prepare for it. Even the judge questioned [him] if he was doing a cross-examination. I begged the senior state prosecutor to allow my private prosecutor (Evalyn Ursua) to cross-examine, but she told us no,” Nicole said.

The state prosecutors are in charge of the criminal aspect of the case; Nicole’s private lawyers (Ursua, Honorato Aquino and Anna Liza Gonzales) are handling the civil aspect.

Silent on Bolante

Nicole said she was standing by her mother’s statement on Friday that a proposal to settle was made by De los Santos.

“I believe in my heart that my mother did not lie,” she said, adding in Filipino: “She kept this from me for a long time because she didn’t want me to be dismayed and lose courage.”

But Nicole’s statement was silent on her mother’s claim that, according to De los Santos, the highly charged rape case would be “traded off” with the case of former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante if Nicole chose not to settle.

(Bolante, the purported architect of the P728-million fertilizer fund scam linked to alleged election machinations in 2004, is under detention in the United States, fighting extradition.)

Of the trade-off claim by Nicole’s mother, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday angrily said on the phone: “That’s baloney, that’s totally false, that’s untrue.”

Gonzalez pointed out that at the time De los Santos supposedly told Nicole’s mother about the trade-off, the Bolante case was not yet a big issue.

He said the rape trial had now taken “a political angle,” which “explains why they are suddenly linking” the two cases.

“The direction there is somebody from the opposition taught them to hit GMA (President Macapagal-Arroyo) with this issue,” he said.

Who’s lying?

Gonzalez issued a “challenge” to both Nicole’s mother and De los Santos to undergo a lie detector test to determine who was lying.

He said Nicole’s mother could even take the test at the US Embassy or with independent “truth verifiers” if she did not want to undergo the procedure at the National Bureau of Investigation, an agency under the DOJ.

Besides, he said, “we have not been talking about this Bolante case at the DOJ, so there is no reason for De los Santos to discuss it [with Nicole’s mother].”

Gonzalez said the attention given Nicole and her camp could have gone to the mother’s head.

“They’re so pampered by the public… They think they are so much of a celebrity that whatever they do, the prosecution will kowtow to them. What they are doing is so unkind, and I resent it,” he said.

Gonzalez said on Friday that he might be ready with a new panel of prosecutors by next week, after he had evaluated Nicole’s letter of request to Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño.

But yesterday, he appeared to have changed his mind.

‘I’m not that stupid’

“We should first listen to the statements of the prosecutors…” Gonzalez said. “We cannot have our prosecutors used as punching bags. We cannot just replace them simply because somebody says they do not like the way they look.”

In her statement, Nicole lashed out at Gonzalez who had said on Friday that she might again be “imagining things.”

Noting that Gonzalez had “expressed from the start his disbelief in my claim of rape,” Nicole said: “Mr. Secretary, I did not imagine the rape. Since your people are supposed to be prosecuting my rapists, you should never have said that.

“I’m not that stupid to have put myself in this predicament by making things up.

“I only want people to know the truth and achieve justice for what Daniel Smith and the other accused had done to me. Fighting for my dignity as well as the dignity of my country and standing up firmly for the case is the most courageous thing that I have ever done.”

Nicole, a college graduate from Zamboanga City, also said that having come this far, “why would I think of a settlement?”

She said Ursua had also told her that she had “the option to settle” and that this was her “right.”

“[But] I said to her that to settle is to think only of the short term, and I don’t want to blame myself that I did not fight,” Nicole said, adding:

“I know I will be bothered by my conscience someday if I didn’t fight and seek justice.”

Stunned

Speaking on Vice President Noli de Castro’s radio program, “Para Sa Iyo Bayan,” Hazel Valdez, the only one among the state prosecutors the complainant wanted retained, said Nicole’s mother had failed to appreciate the rules of court as well as the sacrifices of the team.

Valdez said she and her colleagues were stunned by the claims of Nicole’s mother.

She said she did not believe that De los Santos had proposed a settlement. And if there had been “an instruction for a trade-off,” she said, the team would not have pushed through with the case.

She also said that among the public prosecutors, only she had been reaching out to Nicole and her family, but “on a professional basis.”

Valdez said there was no basis for Nicole’s request that the DOJ replace the four other state prosecutors.

She also said the claim by Nicole and her mother that Quiambao did not ask the right questions during his cross-examination of Smith was incorrect.

“They should understand that not everything they want is acceptable in court,” Valdez said. “The record will bear us out that of the questions they wanted asked, some were objected to by the defense and sustained by the judge; the other questions were objectionable, or not allowed under the rules.”

Over-reaction

Valdez said it was natural for Smith to defend himself and portray Nicole in a bad light, in the same way that the complainant painted a negative image of the accused.

“Maybe [they] are just over-reacting,” she said.

Asked by De Castro if she would stay on as a prosecutor in the case, Valdez reiterated that it was up to the justice secretary to decide the matter. With a report from Cynthia D. Balana

‘Nicole’ and mom insist: Replace panel of lawyers

First posted 22:13:10 (Mla time) 2006-10-04
Tetch Torres Volt Contreras
INQ7.net Inquirer

(UPDATE) OFF-COURT hostilities continue between the Filipino complainant in the Subic rape case and the chief prosecutor even as the landmark trial nears its conclusion.

In official statements, the mother and brother of “Nicole” on Wednesday narrated to the Department of Justice how, as early as July, Senior State Prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos purportedly pushed for a settlement of the case against the complainant’s wish.

The mother claimed in an affidavit written in Filipino that De los Santos had once conceded ”we cannot do anything if they call up the judge” to secure the acquittal of the four accused US Marines.

“Delos Santos told me that the family of the accused already agreed for a settlement,” Nicole’s mother said in an affidavit. “She told me that since my daughter no longer wants to return to Zamboanga, my children need to move to a new place.”

“She told us to write whatever we want. My daughter and my other children can be granted permanent status while me and Ana (Nicole’s stepsister) can be given a multiple entry visa,” she said.

As to who exactly could make that ”call” to Judge Benjamin Pozon of the Makati Regional Trial Court was not clear in the statement that the mother attributed to De los Santos.

Also on Wednesday, the public prosecution panel led by De los Santos canceled plans to conduct a rebuttal which the court earlier scheduled for Thursday — a move that would likely speed up the resolution of the case.

Nicole, 22, has accused Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, of St. Louis, of raping her in a van on November 1 at the Subic Bay freeport, a former US Naval base, while three other Marines cheered him on. If convicted, all four face a maximum of 40 years in jail.

But the mother maintained that the prosecutor brought it up in a late afternoon meeting last July 17 at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf coffee shop in Greenbelt, Makati. She said it was De los Santos who called for that meeting

In that meeting, she said, Delos Santos purportedly warned: ”You better enter into a settlement or your daughter’s case might be traded off with the Bolante case.” She was referring to former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante, who has been detained in the US.

”I asked her how could that happen. She said: ‘We cannot do anything, anyways, if they will call up the judge and to.”

And should they opt to live in the US, “Delos Santos said we should indicate how much money we need,” said the mother.

Delos Santos had denied the accusation, and called the woman and her mother “liars” and “ingrates.”

Gonzales has ruled out an out-of-court settlement even as he ordered an investigation into the “tradeoff” allegations.

The Subic rape trial was supposed to resume Thursday with the retained prosecution panel doing some finishing touches. Conducting a rebuttal, it is expected to call back to the stand two of its previous witnesses, agents Guy Papageorge and Tony Ramos of the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

The two NCIS agents were expected to defend the accuracy of their fact-finding reports on the case, particularly their interview with one of the accused, Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith.

At the last hearing, Nicole’s lawyers announced plans to the summon agents back after Smith claimed during his testimony that he was ”misquoted” many times in the NCIS report which now forms part of the prosecution evidence.

But in an interview at around 5 p.m. Wednesday, Delos Santos said her team had decided that there will be ”no more rebuttal.”

”After going over the records of the case, we are confident that we have shown the court that there was no reason for the NCIS agents to distort their report since their functions were purely fact-finding, with no recommendatory powers,” she explained.

The alleged rape has stirred emotions in the former American colony and, according to some, has tainted the US counterterrorism training, which has been credited with helping Filipino troops crush Muslim militants in the country’s restive south.

The Marines had just taken part in a counterterrorism exercise in the northern Philippines and were on leave at the time of the alleged incident.

Nicole’s ma prepares affidavit for NBI

First posted 23:42:33 (Mla time) 2006-09-26
Volt Contreras
Inquirer

WITH the legal battle of “Nicole” reaching its final stage, her mother appears to be on the verge of another.

Private lawyer Evalyn Ursua said Tuesday that her client’s mother would submit an affidavit shortly to the National Bureau of Investigation on the purported disclosure by a public prosecutor that the rape case could be “traded off” with the case of former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante, who is detained in the United States.

In media interviews two weeks ago, the mother said Nicole’s lead government counsel, Senior State Prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos, had proposed a settlement of the case as early as July. She also said De los Santos had warned of the tradeoff if Nicole passed up the option.

The mother could not elaborate when asked how exactly the two high-profile cases would figure in the purported arrangement.

The supposed Bolante connection also never cropped up again in subsequent media statements made by Nicole against her public prosecutors, four of whom she had requested Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez to replace.

De los Santos has strongly denied the allegations.

Ursua said the NBI, which Gonzalez had ordered to look into the mother’s claims, had approached her and “asked if we are filing criminal charges against De los Santos.”

“Our response is that we will submit an affidavit and it’s up to [the NBI’s] evaluation whether charges should be filed,” Ursua told the Inquirer.

Nicole’s ma bares ‘offer’

First posted 02:05:34 (Mla time) 2006-09-16
Volt Contreras
Inquirer

THE mother of the Filipino complainant in the Subic rape case has not only assailed the supposed incompetence of the public prosecutors but also alleged that their leader had “proposed” a settlement with the accused US Marines.

Speaking with reporters a day after she and her daughter “Nicole” walked out of the courtroom of Makati Judge Benjamin Pozon only minutes before the 1 p.m. hearing was to start, the mother claimed that Senior State Prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos began floating the purported proposal in July and warned that if Nicole’s family passed up this option, “your daughter’s case might be traded off with the Bolante case (kung hindi, baka yung kaso ng anak ninyo maging kapalit ng Bolante case).”

It was a reference to former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante, the purported architect of the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, who is now being held in a US detention center.

The mother said De los Santos gave no indication of what this possible “trade” could mean in connection with Bolante’s case.

Reached by phone in Biliran, an enraged De los Santos denied having pushed for a settlement.

“It was her (Nicole’s mother) who asked me for advice in case there will be a negotiation, what will be its effects,” De los Santos said, adding:

“Ngayon binabaligtad niya (Now she’s turning it around). That’s a lie. They asked for advice and I merely explained the procedure, but that doesn’t mean I was pushing for the negotiation.”

The mother was combative, but she later dissolved in tears during an hourlong meeting with a group of reporters at a restaurant in Quezon City in the early hours yesterday.

Back on the stand

Nicole, her private lawyer Evalyn Ursua, and her therapist Dr. June Pagaduan-Lopez were present at the meeting.

The mother also said the lead prosecutor in the landmark case had wanted to put Nicole back on the stand, for her to tell the court that “she wants out, she’s already tired, and that her lawyer can’t do anything about it.”

Nicole completed her testimony in July.

The mother said she decided to go public only now—or about two months later—about De los Santos’ purported moves after another public prosecutor, Nolibien Quiambao, came “unprepared” for her cross-examination last Monday of the principal accused, Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith.

“I observed the public prosecutors first … and my daughter and I went sleepless for many nights this whole time,” the mother said in Filipino.

She said Quiambao’s performance in court on Monday got her “worried” because it “pieced together” what De los Santos had supposedly told her.

“Nilaro niya kami (She toyed with us),” she said, referring to De los Santos.

Fertile imagination

As to the rape case’s supposed link to the outcome of the Bolante case, De los Santos was emphatic and let drop a few invectives before saying: “I don’t know where they got that; they have a fertile [imagination].

“In the first place, I would be at my craziest to claim having anything to do with the Bolante case. It’s not even at my level [in the Department of Justice].

“I may not be a darling of the press, but nobody can question my credibility in my 13 years in the service. I may be mataray (shrewish), but I’m not a liar.”

De los Santos also all but confirmed the long-rumored rift between the public prosecution panel and Ursua, Nicole’s private lawyer, whom the prosecutor described as a “militant.”

“We all know Ursua is behind all this,” she said in Filipino.

She hinted at a full-blown showdown when she returns to work on Monday: “They will get it from me when I come back.”

De los Santos, who said she was in Biliran attending the wake for her slain kumpadre, former Gov. Danilo Parilla, also questioned the timing of the outburst from Nicole’s mother.

She said it was tantamount to “blackmail” and a breach of the confidentiality of lawyer-client communications.

De los Santos was not at the courtroom on Thursday when Nicole and her mother walked out of the Makati City Regional Court’s Branch 139.

Late Thursday night, Nicole—with her mother, Ursua and Lopez—called a press conference in Quezon City to report that she had sent a letter to the DOJ seeking the replacement of all her public prosecutors except Hazel Valdez.

She said the letter had been ready the night before.

Lull in the hearing

Nicole’s mother likewise claimed that:

De los Santos also approached Nicole’s elder brother about the “settlement.’”

De los Santos mentioned the Bolante case during a lull in the hearing where supposed prosecution witness Timoteo Soriano, the driver of the van where the purported rape took place, did not show up. (That hearing was on July 17, or 10 days after Bolante’s arrest in Los Angeles.)

De los Santos said the families of the accused US Marines had agreed to a settlement and that Nicole’s mother should say “what you want in writing.”

According to De los Santos, Nicole and her siblings could also choose to withdraw from the public eye by going to the United States.

The plan was to have Nicole telling the court she wanted out, preferably before the defense could begin its presentation of evidence.

De los Santos parried all these almost point by point, reiterating that she and Nicole’s mother had exchanges about a possible settlement only because the latter had “asked for advice, and I was explaining the procedure.”

“If they wanted to negotiate, then they have to put it in writing … and Nicole has to take the stand again to say that she’s desisting. What’s wrong with that? That’s procedure,” the prosecutor said.

‘For the Filipinos’

Nicole’s mother was running the family-owned canteen in the Army’s Southern Command camp in Zamboanga City when her daughter, while vacationing with two siblings at the Subic Bay Freeport, was allegedly raped by Smith on the night of Nov. 1, 2005.

She has been a civilian supervisor for 25 years in the Philippine Navy where Nicole’s father, now deceased, was an officer. She has since remarried.

In yesterday’s interview, while saying that it was up to Nicole to pursue the trial and that both she and her daughter were “still very much interested” in the case, she pointed out that winning it was “no longer just for us but for the Filipinos.”

“Where is our government now?” she cried. “We were given public prosecutors, but you wouldn’t know where their loyalty is.”

SMITH’S CUSTODY ISSUE
Nicole’s mom hits Arroyo for siding with US

By Tarra Quismundo
Inquirer
Last updated 10:35pm (Mla time) 12/25/2006

MANILA — Describing her family’s continuing fight for justice as a bout between David and Goliath, the mother of rape victim “Nicole” on Monday broke her silence and scored the government for siding with the US on the custody dispute over her daughter’s convicted rapist.

Reached through phone on Monday, Nicole’s mother let out her anger at the government for concurring with the US claim of custody over Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, an issue that had strained diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“Galit na talaga ako… Sana patas ang laban, pero ngayon nakikialam na si Gloria (President Macapagal Arroyo)… Sana man lang kahit papaano ipagtanggol niya ang Pilipino (I am really angry… I just wish we fight fair, but now Gloria is meddling with it… I just hope somehow she could defend the Filipino),” she said.

“Our fight is like that of David and Goliath. We never got any help from the government throughout this fight, we never asked anybody for help. It was my family that worked for this… And that VFA? (Visiting Forces Agreement), it’s only them (government) that benefits from it,” added the long-time civilian employee of the Philippine Navy.

Nicole, her family and legal team have been opposed to the US retaining custody over Smith, the 21-year-old Marine convicted and jailed on Dec. 4 for raping the Filipino woman last year. The legal dispute is now pending before the Court of Appeals.

The government, meanwhile, through the justice and foreign affairs departments and Malacañang, have been asserting the right of the US to maintain custody of Smith while he appeals his conviction, in compliance with the country’s obligations under the VFA.

The US military recently announced the cancellation of the RP-US war games next year because of the custody dispute. In light of the announcement, the Office of the Solicitor General filed before the appellate court on Friday another agreement between the Philippines and the US for Smith’s return to the US Embassy, with Philippine authorities given “inspection rights.”

The VFA, a treaty that spells out legal protection of US troops while engaged in military exercises here, has been invoked by Smith, the US Embassy and the Philippine government in insisting his return to US authorities. Under the agreement, the US must retain custody of American soldiers on trial in Philippine courts throughout the duration of judicial proceedings.

Both Philippine and US authorities have said the provision applied until the end of the appeals process, which Smith intends to pursue.

But Makati Judge Benjamin Pozon, in dismissing Smith’s petition for a return to American custody on Dec. 13, ruled that “the custody of accused Smith by the US military authorities was terminated after the completion of the trial and rendition of the judgment of conviction.”

Pozon committed Smith to the Makati City Jail (MCJ) on Dec. 4, when he found him guilty of raping Nicole at the back of a Starex van during a short ride at the Subic Bay Freeport before midnight on Nov. 1, 2005.

As jail officials explained that the only convict at the MCJ could not be mixed with crime suspects detained there, Smith was initially held at the records section of the jail house and later transferred to what used to be a storage room, where he is under round-the-clock watch of US military officers.

While her daughter achieved a partial victory with Smith’s conviction, her mother could only lament that her family still has to go another struggle.

“I spent millions and this will happen? This is unfair… We spent our own money for this case then he [Smith] will not be jailed? Now, our enemy is our own government, not just the Americans,” she said, spilling her anger in Filipino.

She said she had already spent around P2.3 million throughout the yearlong trial to pay for fare expenses in bringing herself and Nicole’s siblings to Manila from their native Zamboanga and back, Nicole’s household expenses in the Metro Manila house where she had been staying, food expenses, the duplication of pleadings and court transcripts,
among others.

“I have spent my savings out of my 25 years of service with the human resources department [of the Philippine Navy]. I have several loans I have yet to pay for. I have sold property. My daughter working in Italy could not even call me this Christmas day because all she has earned in the past month she sent me for our expenses during the trial,” she said.

“My children now, they have nothing special this Christmas… We used to have grand Christmas celebrations but now, we can’t,” she continued. She added that her family’s remaining saving grace was her canteen at the Zamboanga military base, one frequented by both Filipino and US servicemen.

She added that the P100,000 worth of damages the court awarded her daughter, still unpaid for as Smith is bent on appealing his case, could not compensate for the financial and emotional trauma her family experienced because of the case.

“Yung P100,000, pang-taxi ko lang ‘yon eh… Ganon na lang pala kamura ang babae sa Pilipinas ngayon, ganon na lang pala kamura ang dangal ng babae ngayon (That P100,000 would only cover my taxi expenses. So, this is how cheap a woman is in the Philippines. This is how cheap a woman’s honor is),” she said.

To all the people who believe in justice,

We are asking your support for Lance Corporal Daniel Smith. With a simple signature we can show our support to this young man who is falsely charged with something he did not commit and now being used by other people for their own interest. Let us show that we Filipinos will fight for what we believe is right and the right thing to do is support the real victim, Daniel Smith.

God bless us all! God bless Daniel Smith!!

JUSTICE4DAN.BLOGDRIVE.COM

Named respondents are Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Dominic Duplantis, Corey Barris and Chad Carpenter.
Friday, June 16, 2006

Statements of accused in rape questioned

THE defense in the Subic rape case will file a motion to exclude the statements of the four accused Marines from the record of the trial on the ground that the US Naval Criminal Investigation Service obtained them without the presence of counsel.
The US Naval investigators, who interviewed Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, and his coaccused, Lance Cpls. Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis, and Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier, after the 22-year-old Filipino woman lodged the complaint, appeared in court on Thursday to narrate the result of their investigation before the court.
In a statement made after the marathon hearing, Jose Justiniano, legal counsel for Silkwood, said the statements should not be admitted as evidence even if the accused had signed a document waiving their legal rights.
Brian Curley of the NCIS, the prosecution’s ninth witness, told the court he assisted fellow agent Brian Warshasty in the investigation of the four accused and other possible witnesses to the alleged rape a few days after the incident. He said all four signed a waiver after having been advised of their rights.
The defense counsel said, however, that for the waiver to be valid, a person accused of a crime must be assisted by a lawyer. Otherwise the waiver has no probative value.
“Under our laws an individual must be assisted by a lawyer when waiving his or her rights,” he said. “In the case of the accused this didn’t happen. The prosecution can claim that the agents are not covered by our laws and that they are under US military regulations. Still, the testimony is inadmissible unless this is a court-martial proceeding.”
Private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua has a different view on the matter. She said the accused could legally waive their right even without counsel, because the circumstances under which the interviews were made don’t fall under the purview of the Philippine Constitution.
“If the interviews were conducted by the local police, the laws of the country should apply,” she said. “But the interviews were conducted by NCIS agents, who fall outside our jurisdiction. They were required to apply US military regulations, not our laws,” Ursua said.
Judge Benjamin Pozon of the Makati Regional Trial Court presides over the trial.
–Jefferson Antiporda

Marines await decision on Philippine rape trial
Three Marines petition for dismissal of conspiracy charges

By Jennifer H. Svan, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, March 5, 2006
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Philippines — The case involving four U.S. Marines accused in the alleged rape of a 22-year-old Filipina likely will go to trial, said the attorney for one of the Marines.
But still to be determined, said Benjamin Formoso, is how many will be ordered to stand trial.
Three Marines, Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier and Lance Cpls. Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood, have petitioned the court to dismiss charges against them on grounds of insufficient evidence. They are charged with conspiring to commit rape.
The fourth Marine, Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, is charged with rape.
The woman alleges the attack occurred on the evening of Nov. 1, while she was vacationing in Subic Bay Freeport, and that Smith raped her in the back of a rented van while the other three Marines cheered him on. All four Marines have denied wrongdoing.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez is reviewing the three Marines’ dismissal motions and is expected to issue a decision soon, said Formoso, a Manila attorney who represents Smith.
Even if the charges against Carpentier, Duplantis and Silkwood are dropped, Smith, 20, likely would be arraigned, Formoso said.
“Not guilty, of course,” will be his plea, he said. Formoso would not comment on what Smith’s defense might be at trial.
Smith told Naval Criminal Investigative Services he and the woman had consensual sex, according to the case’s chief prosecutor, Olongapo city prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni, pointing to a thick stack of NCIS documents in his office.
But Formoso said Smith’s statement shouldn’t be admissible in Philippine court because Smith had no attorney present at the time as required by law.
No cooperation from alleged victim
Another problem in the case is the woman’s lack of cooperation. Jalandoni said he is building his case against the accused without help from the woman, who has failed to appear at any judicial proceedings and has not made herself available to Jalandoni for questioning. He’s said he has not talked to her and is unsure why she won’t participate.
“If she will not appear, there is no more reason to prolong the investigation of the case,” he said.
But he’s not ready to give up.
Despite the alleged victim’s absence thus far, Jalandoni believes he has a strong case, based on the woman’s initial statements to police, physical evidence and witness testimony that Smith and others carried her out of the van “like a pig,” leaving her by the roadside with her jeans pulled down to her knees before heading back to their ship.
The suspects are from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in Okinawa. Marines from the Essex Readiness Group were in the Subic area at the time as part of two bilateral training exercises.
Though Jaladoni allows it would be difficult to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt without testimony from the woman, he said he would consider filing a motion to compel her to testify if there is a trial.
The case, he said, has sparked much criticism at home and abroad of the Visiting Forces Agreement, which has allowed the U.S. to maintain custody of the suspects up to now. To stir such a debate and then to drop the case would be disrespectful of Philippine law and government procedures, Jalandoni said.
“I want to know the truth,” he said, and let justice run its course.
Residents voice support for Marines
Some Olongapo residents have already made up their minds, and their assumptions illustrate some of the complexities of the case.
“In my opinion, there was no rape,” said Bertuldo Laforteza, an Olongapo attorney who defended U.S. servicemembers in the Philippines from 1984 to 1992. “Smith even put on a condom,” he said.
Said Jalandoni: “There was a condom found, but we don’t know if the condom was put on with consent of the woman.”
Jalandoni said he believes she was too drunk to agree. He said witnesses reported seeing her fall down several times at a nightclub where she met the suspects. Though witnesses testified she was drinking that night, Formoso said the woman’s blood alcohol content at the time of the alleged incident is unknown.
Olongapo citizens seem to be standing behind the Americans — who visit the former Subic Naval Base for training and spend money when they do — rather than the woman, whom they point out isn’t from the area.
Street vendor Lolita Espinosa said she can’t believe a rape could have occurred inside a van.
“If the rape was true, you shout for help, right? I’m Filipino. (I know) you would shout” if someone tried to rape you, especially since the driver was Filipino, she said.
The case has sparked protests at justice hall in Olongapo but city worker Marilyn Osio, 54, said the protestors were from Manila.
Laforteza said some people were angry at the U.S. military but “as time goes on, people have mellowed out and they’re trying to forget it already.”
The four Marines are working and living at the U.S. Embassy in Manila with no liberty privileges while the United States maintains custody, Formoso said.
Unclear is who will get custody of the Marines if they are arraigned.
“Both the Philippines and the United States are determined to pursue justice under due process of law. Philippine sovereignty is firm as we anticipate the issuance of the warrant of arrest against the suspects, which will mark the inception of trial,” Ignacio Bunye, spokesman for President Gloria Arroyo, was quoted as saying in Philippine media reports this week.

After Subic rape case, ‘Nicole’ camp says VFA is next battle
12/05/2006 | 07:20 AM
The guilty verdict on American marine L/Cpl Daniel Smith has shattered the myth of invincibility of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) to defend abusive conduct by visiting US forces.

But supporters of the 23-year-old complainant in the Subic rape case said that while Monday’s verdict by a regional trial court judge is a victory for all Filipino women, the fight against the VFA is not yet over.

“The victory of Nicole is a victory for all Filipino women. It is as well a victory for the nation. From hereon, the Visiting Forces Agreement cannot be used to defend abusive conduct and behavior of any military person, man or woman, who transgress the laws of the land,” Task Force Subic Rape, which includes the complainant’s supporters, said in a statement Monday night.

The Task Force said that for as long as the VFA is intact and its one-sided privileges for US military personnel are not amended at the very least, every woman abused by US military, “would have to fight as hard as Nicole did.”

The Philippine government, it noted, has always demonstrated that itl would always be at the mercy of the powerful US government.

“There will be other times and many more occasions to continue the struggle against the VFA. We will persevere in this. Nicole has won, and this at the moment is the most important. Justice has been achieved for the entire nation. We as a people have shown that we are indeed sovereign,” it said.

The Task Force cited Judge Benjamin Pozon for his courage and belief in justice, despite the pressures mounted by the powers-that-be.

“Nicole,” the Task Force added, is “a model of Filipino womanhood - courageous, unflinching in her principles,” and should be emulated by all women who remain silenced in their pain.

“Justice can only be served once we all break out from the fears that envelop us. Violence against women cannot and will not be tolerated,” it said.

It added “Nicole” will move on, even how difficult it may be, and it will see to it that the justice she has claimed will not be taken away from her.

Meanwhile, Sun-Star newspaper (sunstar.com.ph) reported that church groups, militant organizations, and city and provincial officers in the provinces lauded Monday’s decision but still called for public vigilance.

The Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro City, through Vicar General Monsignor Rey Monsanto, said: “If the evidence pointed to that, then it is a triumph for justice, and that we are not afraid to stand for truth and justice even before the Americans.”

Iglesia Filipina Independente (IFI) Fr. Antonio Ablon, Karapatan and Gabriela lawyer Beverly Musni, Youth for Gloria’s Ouster (YouGo!) and Bayan Muna leader Kristine Lim, Black and White Movement-Cagayan de Oro city chapter convener Antonio Soriano lauded Pozon’s decision.

In Davao City, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said the court decided fairly. “It’s a fair decision. The court was right. Mere presence in another person’s crime does not make you a criminal,” Sun-Star quoted him as saying. - GMANews.TV

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Girlie shows, prostitution rampant in Subic

By Anthony Bayarong, Correspondent

SUBIC, ZAMBALES: Residents here are up in arms over the failure of the police and town officials to stop the growing popularity of girlie shows and prostitution.

A resident who asked not to be named said the owners of bars and clubs have shamelessly staged lewd shows because the authorities have failed to enforce the law.

The clubs are located along the main highway of Subic and are a stone’s throw away from the municipal police station and town hall.

One club called Pepekaka has a streamer hanging from its facade that promises “free love after midnight.” The club is said to raffle off girls to costumers at P100 apiece. The winner is entitled to spend a night with the girl of his choice without any “bar fine.”

Other clubs reportedly offering racy shows are Club Ma-L, Churatcha and Chichutita.

Mayor Jeffrey Khonghun denied that girlie shows were rampant in his town.

“We don’t permit lewd shows here but maybe they are doing it on a guerrilla-style basis. Patago siguro ang ginagawa nila,” Khonghun said.

The Subic police chief could not be reached for comment.

Droga at ptostitusyon laganap sa Subic
by Jeff Tombado
from Pilipino Star Ngayon
October 11, 2003

SUBIC, Zambales – Lalong lumalala ang pagkalat ng bawal na droga, prostitusyon at malalaswang panoorin sa mga establisimyento sa Barangay Calapandayan dahil sa posibilidad na protektado ng mga tiwaling pulis mula sa Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (301st-CIDG) ng Zambales, Subic-PNP at ilang barangay at municipal officials ng Subic kapalit ng tinatawag na lingguhang “intelihensya” na tinatanggap ng mga ito mula sa mga nagma-may-ari ng naturang negosyo.

Kinondena ng mga residente ang kawalang aksyon ng mga tauhan ni Subic Mayor Jeffrey Khonghun sa paglaganap ng illegal na droga, prostitusyon at bold shows sa nasasakupang lugar.

Napag-alaman sa mga residente ng naturang lugar na ilang tiwaling opisyal ng barangay at lokal na pamahalaan ng Subic partikular sa CIDG sa Zambales at lokal na pulisya ng Subic ay pinaniniwalaang nakikinabang sa mga illegal na operasyon ng prostitusyon sa kahabaan ng Barangay Calapandayan, Subic, Zambales.

Ibinunyag sa PSN ng impormante na tumatanggap ng P 4,000 kada linggo ang mga awtoridad kapalit ng malayang modus operandi ng mga nagma-may-ari ng mga gusaling tulad ng 392 night club; Head N Tail disco; Kinky bar; Georgetown; Curacha club; Pepe Caca super disco at ang mga bagong bukas na bahay-aliwan tulad ng Luna club; Sweet 16 KTV bar at Marteessan’s KTV na pagma-may-ari ng maimpluwensyang Taiwanese national na nagngangalang “Mr. Pah”.

Bunga nito ay nakatakdang magharap ng reklamo ang mga konsernadong residente ng nasabing Barangay kay Interior and Local Government Secretary Joey Lina sa kawalang aksyong ginagawa ng naturang alkalde maging sina CIDG Regional Director Sr. Supt. Christopher Laxa at Police Regional Office-3 Director Chief Supt. Vidal Querol upang ipasibak sa puwesto sina Belluga at Sr. Insp. Jerry Sumbad ng Subic-PNP dahil sa pagpapabaya sa kani-kanilang tungkulin.

Friday, June 16, 2006
Statements of accused in rape questioned

THE defense in the Subic rape case will file a motion to exclude the statements of the four accused Marines from the record of the trial on the ground that the US Naval Criminal Investigation Service obtained them without the presence of counsel.
The US Naval investigators, who interviewed Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, and his coaccused, Lance Cpls. Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis, and Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier, after the 22-year-old Filipino woman lodged the complaint, appeared in court on Thursday to narrate the result of their investigation before the court.
In a statement made after the marathon hearing, Jose Justiniano, legal counsel for Silkwood, said the statements should not be admitted as evidence even if the accused had signed a document waiving their legal rights.
Brian Curley of the NCIS, the prosecution’s ninth witness, told the court he assisted fellow agent Brian Warshasty in the investigation of the four accused and other possible witnesses to the alleged rape a few days after the incident. He said all four signed a waiver after having been advised of their rights.
The defense counsel said, however, that for the waiver to be valid, a person accused of a crime must be assisted by a lawyer. Otherwise the waiver has no probative value.
“Under our laws an individual must be assisted by a lawyer when waiving his or her rights,” he said. “In the case of the accused this didn’t happen. The prosecution can claim that the agents are not covered by our laws and that they are under US military regulations. Still, the testimony is inadmissible unless this is a court-martial proceeding.”
Private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua has a different view on the matter. She said the accused could legally waive their right even without counsel, because the circumstances under which the interviews were made don’t fall under the purview of the Philippine Constitution.
“If the interviews were conducted by the local police, the laws of the country should apply,” she said. “But the interviews were conducted by NCIS agents, who fall outside our jurisdiction. They were required to apply US military regulations, not our laws,” Ursua said.
Judge Benjamin Pozon of the Makati Regional Trial Court presides over the trial.
–Jefferson Antiporda

Marines skip probe at Olongapo court Manila Standard Today
By Malou G. Dungog November 24, 2005
OLONGAPO CITY — Accused and accuser were both no-shows at the preliminary investigation yesterday of a rape complaint filed by a 22-year-old Filipina against six US servicemen.
Only lawyers from both sides appeared in the jampacked city prosecutor’s office as the hearing got under way at 2:30 p.m. in a case widely seen as a litmus test of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States.
The Filipino lawyers representing the six US marines raised questions about whether one of the witnesses had been coerced into linking the soldiers to the alleged rape.
Five women lawyers representing the accuser, on the other hand, sought to introduce the sworn statement of a new witness, Fe Castro, who supposedly saw US soldiers dumping the victim by the roadside.
The defense lawyers objected, saying they needed time to file a counter-affidavit and were later given until Nov. 29 to do so.
Outside the Justice Hall, antiriot police cordoned off areas occupied by about 800 protesters led by women activists from the Coalition against Trafficking in Women-Asia Pacific, Gabriela and the Bukluran ng Kababaihan sa Olongapo.
Although the six servicemen did not appear, they had earlier filed sworn statements giving their side of the incident, US embassy spokesman Matt Lussenhop said.
He later assured the public that the accused soldiers — Keith Silkwood, Daniel Smith, Albert Lara, Corey Barris, Chad Carpenter and Dominic Duplantis will remain in US custody in the American embassy in Manila, and that US officials would cooperate closely with local investigators to ensure the case is handled fairly and that justice is done.
The 22-year-old Filipina from Zamboanga accused the six marines of gang rape in Subic on Nov. 1.
During the proceedings, defense lawyers urged prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni to accept as evidence tapes and transcripts of radio interviews with Timoteo Soriano, the driver of the van, who initially said he witnessed the rape.
The lawyers cited radio interviews in which Soriano said that Subic Bay security chief Paquito Torres had coerced him into linking the Americans — even though he had never seen the alleged rape.
Torres, who was at the proceedings, denied using coercion and then invoked his right to counsel.
The prosecutor ordered radio stations to submit copies and transcripts of the interview with Soriano detailing the alleged coercion.
Protesters outside criticized the close defense relations between the United States and the Philippines and condemned Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez for refusing to seek custody of the accused soldiers.
“We are astounded by Secretary Gonzalez’ statements that he sees no need to address the issue of custody and that the transfer of custody to the Philippines will cost the government a lot,” said Jean Enriquez, one of the protest leaders. “This is the height of indifference to the gross violation of women’s human rights.”
She added that Gonzalez seemed to be doing his “utmost so as not to strain… ties with the big white brother.”
Gonzalez yesterday hinted that the accuser had tried to withdraw her rape complaint in a meeting that she and her lawyer had tried to set up. He said he refused to meet with them, however, to avoid any accusations of impropriety.
“She said she only remembers being kissed,” Gonzalez said.
The US servicemen were part of a US contingent that had just taken part in joint exercises in the former US naval base.
The case has drawn widespread media attention and some human rights advocates say it has opened up old wounds caused by past abuses.
US diplomats have refused to turn the men over to local authorities and have invoked the VFA.
“This is a test case for the VFA. This is the first time that we are investigating US servicemen under the treaty,” prosecutor Raymond Viray said.
The next round of investigations is set for Nov. 29, after which prosecutors will determine whether there is probable cause to charge the six in court.
If a case against them is established, the soldiers would be arrested, detained and tried in the Philippines.
Lawyers for one of the six US servicemen identified as Albert Lara has specifically asked to be allowed to challenge the accuser — whose identity has been withheld — face-to-face before the prosecutor.
Jalandoni said this would be resolved later.
Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo has asked the US embassy to turn over the suspects, citing the sensitivity of the case. With Roy Pelovello, Cecille Garcia and AFP

‘Bribe offered to silence us’ — witnes s
06/27/2006
The family of the 22-year-old Filipino woman who filed rape charges against four United States military servicemen was offered an undetermined amount of money in exchange for the dropping of the case against the accused.
Ana Lisa Franco, the stepsister of the complainant, during the continuation of her testimony, yesterday told the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) that one of the officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) approached them and offered money to settle the charges against the US Marines, but that she had refused it.
She identified the alleged “mediator” as Ben Natividad, executive assistant of SBMA chief Feliciano Salonga.
Franco said the offer was made on Nov. 2, 2005, the day after the alleged assault, at the Investigation and Intelligence Office (IIO) of the SBMA.
Private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua, for her part, said, “There was an effort to silence the family. There was an offer of payment (made) to them although it (amount) was not specified.”
She added the person
who allegedly offerred settlement if it was intended for giving up the case against Lance Cpls. Daniel Smith, Chad Carpentier, Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood.
“The witness (Franco) did not say how much, but it happened inside the IIO in SBMA where they were asked to just settle the case,” Ursua said.
The prosecutor stressed Franco’s testimony regarding alleged settlement only disproved all rumors circulating against the girl’s family that they are just interested in money.
“This just proves that the family is not after settlement of any amount,” Ursua added.
She pointed out the circumstances surrounding the “offer” was kept secret by Franco and “Nicole,” the complainant, for fear of retaliation against their family.
Jose Justiniano, Silkwood’s lawyer, said the first time he heard the name Natividad was when Pacquito Torres of SBMA’s IIO informed him Natividad had indicated that six Americans were being charged with rape.
The defense also tried to discredit the testimony of Franco by casting doubts on her claim that Nicole was already drunk when she was taken out of the Neptune Club, loaded into the Starex van where she claimed she was raped and dumped half-naked into a parking lot.
Franco admitted she and the complainant had taken four types of drinks ordered for them by US Navy friend Christopher James Mills despite the fact that those were “unfamiliar” to them.
She said she had seen her dizzy sister consume half a pitcher of “bullfrog” straight while being cheered on by unfamiliar Americans.
Justiniano, however, claimed the fact that the sisters testified they already felt dizzy after consuming several rounds of liquor and still refused to go back to the hotel speaks something out of normal.
“It’s not normal for a person to go to an unfamiliar club, much more to order and drink wine that is unfamiliar to them,” he said.
“If they were not drinkers, they (sisters) should have taken fruit juice drinks instead of allowing others to order unfamiliar drinks for them,” the defense lawyer added.
Ursua, however, said the questions and issues raised by the lawyers of the accused were immaterial to the case, such as Justiniano’s delving into the details of the drinks ordered by Franco and Nicole the night of the alleged assault.
She added being drunk and having a good time are not relevant to the crime of rape.
Ben Gines Jr.

The Philippine STAR

Headlines

Prosecution in Subic rape case accused of doctoring testimony
By Michael Punongbayan
Publication Date: [Wednesday, June 14, 2006]
A lawyer for one of the US Marines accused of raping a 22-year-old Filipina at Subic Bay Freeport last year accused the prosecution yesterday of “doctoring” the testimonies of witnesses presented during trial at the Makati City regional trial court in favor of the complainant.

The rape case against US Marines Daniel Smith, Chad Carpentier, Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis is being heard by Judge Benjamin Pozon.

Referring to the testimony of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) bike patrol officer Noel Paule last Friday, Benjamin Formoso, Smith’s lawyer, told The STAR in an interview: “Dinadagdagan nila eh. Kagaya nung ‘tama na, tama…,’ wala naman yun sa sworn statement (They are adding words. Just like, ‘Enough, enough…,’ that’s not in the sworn statement).”

Government and private prosecutors are also presenting testimonial evidence “based on nothing more than hearsay,” he added.

Paule, the prosecution’s fifth witness since the marathon trial began last June 2, testified on how he allegedly saw the victim crying in a parking lot near the Telecoms Building at Subic Freeport Zone on the night of the alleged rape.

Paule said he spoke with the alleged victim before taking her to the SBMA Intelligence and Investigation Office.

During cross-examination, Formoso, along with the lawyers of Carpentier, Silkwood and Duplantis, tried to establish that Paule’s version of the complainant’s quotes on the night of the alleged rape differed from those included in sworn statements made before investigating officers the following day.

Paule said the victim uttered the words “Tama na, tama na, pero sige pa rin sila (Enough, enough but they continued)” and “Pag nalaman ito ng mama ko, papatayin niya ako (If my mama learns about this, she will kill me)” when he asked her what had happened.

Defense lawyers showed Paule his sworn statement that did not contain the direct quotes disclosed in his direct testimony in open court.

Other witnesses who took the stand were Tomas Corpus, Gerard Muyot, Joseph Khonghun and Jaime Avila.

They have so far testified on what allegedly occurred from 11 p.m. on Nov. 1, 2005 to 1 a.m. onwards on Nov. 2.

Formoso told The STAR the defense believes that all five witnesses have so far failed to prove that the victim was raped by the four US servicemen.

“No actual rape. No gang rape committed. All hearsay,” he said, confident of an acquittal for his client and the rest of the accused.

Formoso said if there was any rape, there should have been violence involved and resistance on the part of the complainant.

“The alleged victim had no bruises, no wounds whatsoever, which means that there was no force or violence exerted against her,” he said.

On the other hand, private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua of the Women’s Legal Bureau dismissed Formoso’s statements as “personal conclusions” that may “misinform the public” insofar as the definition of rape is concerned.

“The testimony of the witness on the witness stand is what’s critical,” she said. “The real test is the cross-examination, if the witness can withstand it.”

Ursua said sworn affidavits do not include everything a witness may say in court because this depends on a number of factors.

“It depends on how exhaustive the investigator is, it depends on the questions,” she said. “It’s usual. No questions asked, no answer.”

Ursua said Formoso’s idea that rape is committed only with force or intimidation is wrong because there is a much broader definition of the crime under law.

“Rape is committed in several ways,” she said.

“It’s not always through use of force or intimidation or violence. Rape can also focus on lack of consent or if it is committed against the will of someone. Well, that’s his conclusion. We haven’t finished yet.”

Meanwhile, Formoso said the one-year period during which Smith must be tried in a Philippine court ends 60 days earlier than the privilege enjoyed by his three co-accused because he did not file a Petition for Review before the Department of Justice, resulting in a two-month suspension of judicial proceedings.

Smith is asking Pozon to issue a ruling on the matter.

In a motion for partial reconsideration of the court’s earlier ruling placing at Dec. 27, 2005 the start of the one-year period under the Visiting Forces Agreement for the court to have jurisdiction to try the US servicemen, Smith said the one-year period for him should end earlier.

Formoso said after the case was raffled off to the Olongapo RTC Branch 73, a 60-day suspension of the judicial proceedings began on Jan. 26, 2006 because Duplantis, Carpentier and Silkwood filed a Petition for Review before the Department of Justice on Jan. 17.

The judicial proceedings resumed on March 20, 2005 shortly before the venue of the trial was transferred to the Makati RTC, he added.

Formoso said the court failed to consider that Smith, who is accused of actually raping the victim while his companions allegedly cheered on, did not file a Petition for Review, which means that the judicial proceedings in his case were never suspended.

Based on this argument, the court must issue an order that Smith’s one-year period under the VFA started on Dec. 27, 2005 and should end on the same date this year, he added.

Formoso also raised another argument seeking to set the end of the one-year period earlier, on Nov. 27, 2006.

Formoso said they would invoke Republic Act 8493, the Speedy Trial Act of 1998, which means that the prosecution has to finish and prove their case within 180 days from the first day of the trial, June 2, 2006.

“This (the marathon hearings) is a speedy trial, what else can you call this?” he asked in an interview with The STAR after he filed the motion early yesterday morning.

The Philippine STAR

Headlines

Subic rape: Victim, suspects a no-show
By Ding Cervantes and Bebot Sison Jr.
Publication Date: [Thursday, November 24, 2005]
OLONGAPO CITY — The key figures in the controversial rape case involving a 22-year-old Filipina and six US servicemen were a no-show during the preliminary investigation at the Hall of Justice here yesterday.

The lawyers of the six US soldiers accused of the rape, however, took center stage by challenging the evidence presented by a witness in the case that could be seen as “a litmus test” of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

During the preliminary investigation, the lawyers of the American servicemen tried to raise questions about whether one of the witnesses had been coerced into linking the Marines to the alleged rape.

Although the six soldiers did not appear, they had earlier filed sworn statements giving their side of the incident, US Embassy Press Attaché Matthew Lussenhop said in a news conference before the preliminary investigation began.

Lussenhop declared the physical presence of the six accused “was not required by the Office of the (Olongapo) City Prosecutor, although all six remain in US custody in the Philippines.”

Lussenhop said the six accused would remain in the custody of the US Embassy in Manila, adding that the mission would “cooperate closely with (local investigators) to ensure this case is handled fairly and that justice is done.”

He said the six were ready to file sworn statements with the prosecutor’s office but their lawyers were not able to submit them due to the additional testimony submitted by the complainant’s lawyers.

Lussenhop led the US delegation that included US Marine Capt. Burrel Parmer, former spokesman for the recently concluded Talon Vision and Philblex joint military exercise in which the six Marines were participants.

The alleged rape victim also failed to attend the preliminary hearing but she was represented by lawyers Sheila Bazar and Raymund Escolango.

Her lawyers submitted a supplemental affidavit signed by witness Fe Castro detailing the “gruesome ordeal” suffered by the victim at the hands of the six Americans.

This surprised the defense lawyers who urged Olongapo City Prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni to give them time to answer the supplemental affidavit.

Jalandoni gave the defense lawyers five days to submit their counter-affidavits.

Defense lawyers also urged Jalandoni to accept as evidence tapes and transcripts of radio interviews given by Timoteo Soriano, driver of the van rented by the American soldiers and in which the rape allegedly took place.

Soriano initially claimed he had witnessed the rape.

The lawyers cited radio interviews in which Soriano said that Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) security chief Paquito Torres had coerced him into linking the six Americans — even though he had never seen the alleged rape.

Torres, who was present in the proceedings, denied using coercion and invoked his right to counsel.

Jalandoni then ordered radio stations to submit copies and transcripts of the interview with Soriano detailing the alleged coercion.

The witnesses — Castro and Soriano — also failed to attend the preliminary hearing.

Outside of the building where the preliminary investigation was held, protesters condemned the security agreement between the US and its former colony.
Answer the allegations
The accused servicemen were part of a US contingent that had just taken part in joint military exercises in the former US naval base of Subic.

The case has drawn widespread media attention and some human rights advocates say it has opened up old wounds caused by past abuses by the Americans.

The VFA, forged in 1998, grants limited immunity from criminal prosecution to US troops when they are engaged in joint maneuvers in this country.

“This is a test case for the VFA. This is the first time that we are investigating US servicemen under the treaty,” prosecutor Raymond Viray said.

Viray added the American servicemen are expected to deny any wrongdoing.

He said the next round of investigations is set for Nov. 29, after which prosecutors will determine whether there is probable cause to charge the six Americans in court.

If a case against them is established, the soldiers would be arrested, detained and tried here to face life imprisonment or death if there are aggravating circumstances, Viray said.

Albert Lara, a lawyer for one of the six US servicemen, specifically asked to be allowed to challenge the alleged victim face-to-face before prosecutors. Jalandoni added this would be resolved later.

Despite the no-show of the rape victim, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said she is bent on pursuing the case against the six Americans.

Sources, however, said the victim had been about to withdraw her complaint against the six but her request was turned down by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez.

Two DOJ officials separately claimed the victim was about to submit her affidavit effectively recanting the rape charges against the six Americans.

“The truth is the victim intends to recant the rape charges. That was refused by the Justice Secretary because it will not reflect well on him. Her recantation is that what she remembers is that she was being kissed,” one of the officials said.

The official said the victim wanted to maintain that she was just kissed by the accused.

“She wants to delete the element of rape in her original complaint-affidavit,” another DOJ official disclosed.

“She was with her lawyer, Atty. (Minerva) Ambrosio. The victim wants that portion on the element of rape… and she will strike that out,” the official added.

Sources disclosed Gonzalez did not allow the victim and her lawyer to enter his office, forcing them to proceed to Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño and State Prosecutor Lilian Alejo to subscribe her withdrawal.

The source claimed the victim, including her lawyers Ambrosio and Katrina Legarda, decided against appearing before the preliminary investigation because of the publicity.

“The victim was advised by Zuño to go to the fiscal in Olongapo at 7:00 a.m. today (Wednesday) so that she will not be seen by the media. If that portion (the rape allegations) is deleted, the case will be dead. It will be lessened to sexual abuse or sexual molestation,” the official pointed out.

“The government can still pursue the case against the six US Marines for the remaining allegations of sexual molestation, but the case will definitely be weak,” the official added.

“The victim can be forced to testify against the accused, but it will not change anything because the recantation will definitely weaken the case against the accused,” he said.

The same officials pointed out the request of the defense lawyers for more time to submit their supplemental-complaint affidavit would cause delays in the proceedings. — With Ric Sapnu, Jose Rodel Clapano, Sheila Crisostomo, AP, AFP, Reuters

‘Nicole’ admitted to ‘sex,’ says US probe report

First posted 03:01am (Mla time) June 06, 2006
By Tarra V. Quismundo, Volt Contreras
Inquirer

Editor’s Note: Published on page A1 of the June 6, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
LAWYERS defending the American Marines charged in the Subic rape case yesterday continued pounding on “Nicole’s” credibility, this time citing portions of a US Navy fact-finding report that they claimed was “favorable” to the four accused.
The 22-year-old alleged victim, identified in media only as “Nicole”, claimed she was raped on Nov. 1 by Lance Corporal Daniel Smith while Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis as well as Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier cheered him on.
One defense lawyer noted that the complainant “never used the word rape” but only the word “sex” when she first confided the alleged incident to another US serviceman who was eventually interviewed by the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).
The same American soldier, identified in the NCIS report as one Bamberger, said “Nicole” had also admitted that a condom was used in the sex act.
When Bamberger asked her “why would a rapist use a condom,” “Nicole” supposedly “freaked out,” the report said.
Jose Justiniano, counsel for Silkwood, managed to draw the court’s notice to these accounts in his cross-examination of Ronald Beltz, resident agent in Manila of the NCIS and the third witness presented by the prosecution.
Justiniano made Beltz read out portions of the NCIS report, which formed part of the prosecution’s evidence.
The lawyer later said in an interview after the hearing that he employed this tactic because the report, although introduced by the prosecution, had “portions favorable to us.”
“Just like what was said by a US serviceman, Bamberger, who was apparently a friend of the complainant’s and who was later interviewed by NCIS. He said she only told him that that ‘we had sex’ and there was no mention of rape,” Justiniano told reporters off-court.
Evalyn Ursua, a lawyer for the woman, said Beltz would continue his testimony later this week, during which other US Navy investigators were expected to testify about Smith’s statement admitting he had consensual sex with “Nicole.”
Ursua said she was given a copy of the statement by Navy investigators.
“He had admitted that he had sex, that’s important. He says it was consensual, but that’s his claim,” Ursua told The Associated Press.
In the hearing, Beltz was also made to read passages quoting Timoteo Soriano Jr., driver of the hired van where the alleged rape took place.
Girls for sale
On the night Soriano picked up “Nicole” and Smith from the Neptune Bar at the Subic Bay Freeport, the bar’s security guard told the US Marines in the van that they should see him if they wanted to “get” girls at a cheaper price.
This was because the girls “in here” usually fetched P6,000 per client but the guard could drive the rate down to P3,000, Soriano said, as quoted in the NCIS report cited by Beltz.
The guard, who Soriano said even asked the Americans for a tip, was not identified — but the passage was apparently referring to Gerald Muyot, the prosecution witness before Beltz.
Previous hearings established that Muyot was the only guard posted at Neptune’s entrance at the time and that he saw Soriano’s van on the night it was used to pick up “Nicole” and Smith.
Basis for case
Beltz said the NCIS report would be used by the Okinawa-based US Marine commander of Smith et al. as a basis for any case they may face under US military law. Any legal action by the Marine high command has been “held in abeyance” pending the outcome of the case in the Philippines, he explained.
He also recalled interviewing Soriano regarding the rape case with the aid of an interpreter on Nov. 16, or 15 days after the alleged incident, at the Century Park Hotel in Manila.
Beltz said a Filipino woman had acted as an “intermediary” for Soriano when he contacted the US Embassy and that this woman was present at the interview. The US official, however, maintained that he never got the woman’s name.
Aside from the interview, Soriano provided NCIS a sketch of where the complainant and Marines were seated in the van, he added.
Defense lawyers also sought a demonstration of how Smith “loaded” the complainant into the van on the night of the incident.
Judge Benjamin Pozon of Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 139 said in court yesterday that he would subpoena the Kia Starex van where the alleged rape took place.
The green van would be brought to court on Friday.
The US Marines had rented the van and used it during their furlough after the RP-US war games “Talon Vision.” It was driven by Soriano, who claimed to have witnessed the alleged crime in the van, only to recant later.
Reenactment
Defense lawyers also requested a reenactment — based on Muyot’s testimony — of how Smith opened the van’s door while carrying the drunk complainant on his back, and how he loaded her onto the vehicle.
The prosecution had presented Muyot and Tomas Corpuz Jr., security guards at the Neptune Bar at the Subic Freeport. They were the first pair of witnesses presented to show that at the time of the incident “Nicole” was too drunk to have consented to sex.
Muyot, who was posted outside the bar on the night of the incident, had testified to seeing Smith carrying a barely conscious “Nicole” piggyback between 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 1 last year.
A little more than three hours later, the complainant would return to the bar looking for the Marines she alleged had raped her.
Nicole in tears
Defense lawyers grilled Muyot for more than two hours, as they attempted to quash his credibility. Muyot was asked why he failed to record in his logbook the unusual events he noticed while manning his post on the evening of Nov. 1, even while he managed to jot them down on a small piece of paper.
“Since I was not sure of my suspicion that it would lead to that situation [the alleged rape], I just wrote it on a piece of paper,” said Muyot, under Justiniano’s questioning.
Muyot had testified that on the night of the incident, his suspicions were aroused when Smith suddenly told him, “She’s with me, we’re gonna go now,” as the accused was about to load the complainant into the van.
At one point during Muyot’s testimony, “Nicole” broke down in tears. With an Associated Press report

SUBIC RAPE CASE
‘Nicole’ relives ordeal
Defense: Victim spends hours in ‘naughty’ place

First posted 01:03am (Mla time) June 03, 2006
By Volt Contreras, Tarra V. Quismundo
Inquirer

Editor’s Note: Published on page A1 of the June 3, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
“NICOLE” cried rape in the hands of four US Marines seven months ago, and yesterday in a Makati court she endured four hours of having her supposed ordeal retold.
She also tasted a prelude of what the Filipino lawyers of her alleged tormentors had apparently set out to do: Portray her as someone comfortable spending late hours in a “naughty” and “notorious” place like the Neptune Bar, which, the lawyers noted, employed hospitality girls and offered “VIP Rooms.”
The first two prosecution witnesses, both security personnel, said Nicole was visibly drunk at the popular nightspot inside the Subic Bay Freeport minutes before leaving with one of the accused on the night of Nov. 1, 2005.
Tomas Corpuz Jr., security guard on duty at the Neptune on that night, said he saw Nicole weaving and barely able to stand.
“I noticed a woman roaming around in the function area. She appeared drunk. When she happened to pass me by and almost bumped me, she reeked of liquor,” Corpuz said.
During a recess in the proceedings that started at 1 p.m. and that saw her publicly identified and exposed for the first time, the 22-year-old Nicole was seen silently weeping in her seat.
Her therapist, Dr. June Lopez, locked her in an embrace, and a number of other women formed a comforting shell around them.
At the other side of the courtroom, a mere 10 feet away, the accused—Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier and Lance Corporals Daniel Smith, Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis—conferred with their lawyers and other American companions in low tones. Seated beside them in a wheelchair was their “spiritual adviser,” American Jesuit priest James Reuter.
‘Naughty place’
Two of the four defense lawyers pressed on the “naughty” angle when they grilled Corpuz.
Carpentier’s lawyer, Francisco Rodrigo, initially had Corpuz describing the interior of the bar. Then he popped the question: “What do people do in the private VIP rooms?”
Told by Judge Benjamin Pozon to state the question’s relevance following strong objections from private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua, Rodrigo said he just wanted to know “what this innocent woman is doing in a place that has private rooms.”
Rodrigo also said his line of questioning was meant to establish that Neptune was “a naughty place.”
But the judge cut him: “Are you trying to describe the character of the victim? I’m sorry but the court cannot allow that.”
Later, Smith’s counsel Benjamin Formoso asked Corpuz whether Neptune employed hospitality girls, and how many were working that night.
When asked by the court about the question’s relevance, Formoso said the context was that the bar was “notorious.”
Ursua countered that the defense panel should present its own witness if it wanted to prove that Neptune was “not wholesome.”
How many tables?
The four defense lawyers took turns testing Corpuz’s memory—and credibility—by peppering him with questions that had some of those present, including American observers, shaking their heads or breaking into muted laughter.
Was the music in the bar that night playing continuously? Can a person be easily recognized amid blinking club lights? How many tables were there, and how far were these from the dance floor?
Nicole was seated in the third row of the audience section of the old Makati City Council session hall, which yesterday doubled as Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 139.
Around 30 minutes later, Ursua asked Corpuz to identify the supposed victim.
Corpuz left the stand, walked toward the audience and said, “Siya po (That’s her).”
He pointed to a woman in a khaki jacket and black pants, the same person he described minutes earlier in his testimony as “long-haired (lampas-balikat ang buhok), quite chubby and quite dark-skinned.”
The four Marines, who were seated on the front row at the other side of the hall, gave her a sideward glance.
‘Pasuray-suray’
Corpuz said he had just completed making the rounds and was at the entrance of the function room when he saw Nicole wandering around the packed bar.
“Pasuray-suray siya. Parang wala siya sa sarili (She was swaying. It was like she wasn’t herself),” said Corpuz, who was later asked to demonstrate how wobbly the woman was when he saw her at around 11:30 p.m. of Nov. 1.
When asked if he assisted the woman upon seeing her condition, he said: “I did nothing because she wasn’t causing a commotion.”
He said he learned her full name later, when he saw her at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Law Enforcement Department’s Intelligence and Investigation Office, where he had been invited to give a voluntary statement.
‘She’s with me’
Gerald Muyot, who was posted outside the Neptune at around the same time, told the court that he saw an American carrying a very drunk Nicole piggyback on his way out of the bar and “loading” her into a green Starex van (WKF-162).
“The American said, ‘She’s with me, we’re gonna go now,’” Muyot testified, adding:
“I became suspicious because he told me that when I wasn’t even asking him—and why would he say that to me? That’s why I took a piece of paper from my wallet and took note of the van’s plate number.”
Muyot said that at around 2:45 a.m. of Nov. 2, or a few hours after he saw the American “load” the drunken woman into the van, a mobile patrol car arrived in front of the Neptune.
He said the same woman he had seen in the arms of the American, whom he later identified as Smith, alighted and asked security guards if there were any other US servicemen inside the bar.
“She said the men did something bad to her and she wanted to see if there were any other US Marines inside. So I escorted her inside the club, but when she saw that there were no other Marines there, she left,” Muyot said.
Muyot also identified both Smith and Nicole in open court.
No consent
In an interview after the hearing, prosecutor Ursua expressed satisfaction with the consistent testimony of the first two witnesses, saying they were able to prove that Nicole could not have engaged in consensual sex.
(Smith had earlier admitted to having sex with the complainant, but said it was with her consent.)
“We are pleased with the testimony because it only proves that she couldn’t have consented to sex, to what happened inside the van, because she was very drunk, she smelled of liquor, she appeared to be not herself inside the bar,” Ursua said.
The prosecutor also said that “when a woman is raped, her character would have nothing to do with it. Even one who’s into prostitution has a right not to be raped.”
Asked how she took the defense lawyers’ questions centering on Neptune’s hospitality girls and VIP rooms, Ursua said: “Good luck to them. It has nothing to do with the issue of rape. And second, I don’t think they can destroy Nicole’s credibility.”
‘No pictures!’
When the hearing was adjourned at 5 p.m., Nicole changed into a black jacket and had a female friend pose as a decoy, giving the latter the khaki jacket she was wearing during the proceedings.
On her way out of the courtroom, Nicole was surrounded by young women shouting, “No pictures! No pictures!”
Nevertheless, she was besieged by photographers and cameramen

SUBIC RAPE
Probers to testify GI, victim had consensual sex–lawyer

First posted 11:58am (Mla time) June 05, 2006
By Teresa Cerojano
Associated Press

TWO US Navy investigators were expected to testify in court Monday that one of four US Marines accused of rape had admitted to having consensual sex with the Filipino woman who filed the case, a prosecution lawyer said.
Evalyn Ursua, a lawyer for the 22-year-old woman, said testimonies of the US Navy Criminal Investigation Service officers will form key evidence to piece together the woman’s allegation that she was raped by Lance Corporal Daniel Smith in a van while three other Marines cheered him on.
The alleged crime took place Nov. 1, 2005 at the former US Subic Bay Naval base near Olongapo city, west of Manila.
The Marines have denied the charge of rape, which carries up to 40 years in prison.
Ursua said she was given a copy of Smith’s statement to Navy investigators admitting he had consensual sex.
“He had admitted that he had sex, that’s important. He says it’s consensual, but that’s his claim,” Ursua told the Associated Press.
On Friday, two security guards at the Neptune Bar in Subic told the Makati Regional Trial Court they saw the woman, identified only as “Nicole,” drunk on the night of the alleged rape while Smith carried her on his back into the parked van.
Smith and Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier are members of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Force stationed on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.
The Marines had finished counterterrorism maneuvers with Filipino troops when the alleged rape occurred.
The US Embassy has refused to turn them over to Philippine police, citing a provision under the Visiting Forces Agreement that lets US authorities hold American servicemen facing a criminal case.
US officials have refused to disclose their hometowns.