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Monday, March 20, 2006
Justice office to deny plea of Subic rape suspect
MANILA -- The Department of Justice said Sunday it would come up with a resolution early this week rejecting the appeal of American serviceman Daniel Smith to reverse the finding of probable cause in the rape charges filed against him by a 22-year-old Filipino woman.
Smith, 22, and co-accused US Marines Chad Carpentier, Keith Silkwood, and Dominic Duplantis are set to face the woman who accused them of raping her on November 1, 2005 during an arraignment scheduled for March 24 before Olongapo City Judge Renato Dilag.
"I think not all of them should be charged, but Smith should be charged," said Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr.
Without elaborating on the content of his resolution, Gonzalez said that at the outset, there is strong evidence of probable cause against Smith to warrant the filing of criminal charges against him.
Earlier, the Olongapo City court said it would proceed with the arraignment even if the justice department recommended the dismissal of the case.
Gonzalez's decision would affirm but modify the findings of Olongapo City Prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni that the four US Marines are liable for conspiracy to rape the victim, a native of Zamboanga City who was visiting some relatives in Subic when the alleged rape occurred.
Smith and his co-accused are part of the US team aboard USS Essex carrier that arrived in the country in October last year to participate in the RP-US joint military exercises.
Lawyers for Smith and Carpentier have confirmed their appearance for the arraignment, a court proceeding wherein their accuser would be asked to personally identify her assailants in court, while they will have to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty to the charges.
John Coluso, lawyer for both Silkwood and Duplantis, said he is still studying whether to bring his clients to the hearing on Friday.
Dilag scheduled the arraignment with the lapse of the 60-day period prescribed for Gonzalez to act on the motions for review submitted by the respondents appealing the decision of Jalandoni.
The four respondents were supposedly detained inside the US Embassy in Manila after the court recalled the arrest order against the US servicemen. The Department of Foreign Affairs failed to serve the warrants last January 17.
The US embassy had issued a reply to the Philippine government's note verbale, denying its request for custody of the servicemen.
In recalling the warrants, Dilag said there is no point insisting on the court's physical custody of the four US servicemen since the country has recognized the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) as part of the law of the land.
Under Article 5, Paragraph 6 of the agreement, the Philippines conceded to waive custody of the accused American soldiers until there is a final judgment finding them guilty of the charges.
However, Dilag warned he would order the arrest of the suspects who would ignore the arraignment proceedings of the case.
The judge also required the victim to appear in the arraignment to personally identify her assailants. (ECV/Sunnex)
(March 20, 2006 issue)
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