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Thursday, July 06, 2006
Subic rape victim 'ready for testimony': lawyer
ON THE eve of Nicole's testimony before the Makati Regional Trial Court [RTC] against the four US servicemen whom she accused of raping her last year at the Subic Freeport Zone, the prosecution expressed confidence she will be able to withstand the scrutiny of the defense and a somewhat skeptical public.
Private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua said her client has been preparing for the day when she will be able to tell the court her ordeal at the hands of the accused on the night of Nov. 1, 2005.
Four members of the US Marine Corp - Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier and Lance Corporals Daniel Smith, Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood were charged before the sala of Makati RTC Branch 139 judge Benjamin Pozon of rape. Smith admitted to investigators of the US Naval Investigative Service (NCIS) that he had sex with Nicole although he added it was consensual, a point that the prosecution objected saying that the complainant was too drunk on that night to give her consent to the act.
"She is prepared physically and mentally for the day when she will be taking the witness stand. She is likewise ready to face the accused and their counsels," Ursua said.
The lady prosecutor added that Nicole is also cognizant of the fact that her testimony will draw a lot of people to the court but she added that in several pep talk, the complainant expressed readiness and courage to face the gallery.
Nicole has been religiously attending every court hearing -- which is scheduled every day except on Wednesdays when the court takes a break -- and have been absent only once when, according to the prosecution, she was tired.
But on several occasion she cried and even "walked out" of the courtroom after hearing the testimony of businessman Joseph Khunghon, one of the prosecution's witnesses, who told the court how he saw the complainant, half-naked and being "dumped" by the accused near the parking lot at the SBMA's Alava Pier in the early morning of Nov. 2, 2005.
In last Monday's hearing the prosecution said they would not object to the public attending Thursday's proceedings and even said it would enable the public to get to know her story.
Ursua initially objected to the public prosecutor's move to open the testimony to the public but relented later but she said the public and the media might be asked to vacate the court especially when her testimony touches on sensitive subjects.
She said the testimony of the complainant might take about two to three hearings after which the defense panel will have the chance to cross-examine her.
Nicole is the prosecution's 20th witness and her testimony, according to the prosecution, is very important to the bearing of the case. Her stepsister, Analiza Franco has also appeared before the court and spoke of events prior to the incident, including their night out at the Neptune Bar, where the complainant allegedly met the accused.
After Nicole, the prosecution will present six more witnesses, including noted forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun; Dr. Rolando Ortiz, the medico-legal officer of the James Gordon Memorial Hospital where the complainant was brought for examination; Timoteo Soriano, the driver of the Starex van where the alleged incident took place; a toxicologist; and a forensic psychiatrist.
The defense panel, through Silkwood's counsel Jose Justiniano, said they and their clients are likewise ready for her testimony and that the accused were not losing any sleep over what she might tell the court.
The defense is set to present eight witnesses after the prosecution rests its case.
Meanwhile a militant women's group asked Nicole not to waver in her search for justice, adding that her courage would serve as a beacon of hope to other abused women not only in the country but in other parts of the globe.
"Your struggle and your family's is also the struggle not only of Filipino women. You, Kabaro, bind women together. All women wish that violence and abuse directed towards her sister would stop. Moreover, your courage to look for justice encouraged other women victim of violence and abuse to seek retribution and justice against their perpetrators," said a one-page letter from Gabriela secretary general Emmi De Jesus.
The group criticized the Arroyo administration for not throwing its full support to her quest for justice. (AH/Sunnex)
(July 6, 2006 issue)
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