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Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Justice office wants Subic rape case moved to Manila
MANILA -- The Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court (SC) Monday to order the transfer of the trial from Olongapo City to Manila of four US servicemen accused of raping a 22-year-old Filipino woman in Subic last year.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales made the call following the inhibition of the Olongapo City judge from the suit.
Gonzalez said the decision of Judge Renato Dilag of the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 73 to inhibit himself from the case, a day before the date of arraignment, has caused a "slight setback" in the delivery of justice to the complainant.
He said he was able to hand his memorandum of request to Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban in a meeting Monday of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), in which he is one of the members.
He said Panganiban assured that the magistrates will give priority to the matter by taking it up in Tuesday's en banc session of the SC.
In a memorandum to Panganiban, Gonzalez said with Dilag's withdrawal from the case, only two judges in Olongapo City are left to try the case, Judge Reynaldo Caguioa of Branch 74 and Judge Avelino Lazo of Branch 75.
Gonzalez said Caguioa might also inhibit himself due to conflict of interest, leaving Lazo, who will retire in December this year, to handle the trial of the case.
"Considering that under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the judicial proceedings has to be completed in a period of one year, it would be dangerous to start the trial of the case and suspend it in the middle of the trial with the retirement of Judge Lazo," Gonzalez said.
"In view hereof and in the interest of speedy administration of justice, the department respectfully requests your office to transfer the trial of this case from Olongapo City to Manila," Gonzales stated in his request.
In a press briefing, Gonzalez said Caguioa may not also be interested in taking the case because he was previously connected with one of the law offices handling the defense of one of the accused Americans.
He said any delay in the transfer of all the records from the Olongapo City court to a special Manila court to be designated by the SC would not be counted inclusive of the one-year period under the VFA.
But he said they are anticipating that any delay in the proceedings would be brought upon by the defense, who might decide to change their battery of lawyers as soon as the trial has started so that they may ask the judge to grant them at least a 15-day period during which the new counsel would study the case.
Charged in the complaint were US Marines Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier and Lance Corporals Daniel Smith, Keith Silkwood, and Dominic Duplantis.
Among the suspects, Smith has admitted having consensual sex with the complainant but denied raping the victim.
Attorney Benjamin Formoso, lead counsel for Smith, said his co-counsel Attorney John Coluso from the Coluso Chica and Associates law firm, assigned to represent Silkwood and Duplantis, has been removed from the case and replaced by a lawyer from the Sycip Salazar and Hernandez law firm.
Formoso rejected the planned transfer of trial from Olongapo City to Manila because "it will cause further delay in the delivery of justice."
"This is not the only issue that the Supreme Court will handle. Why don't we already go to trial directly?" he said in a phone interview.
He said the transfer of documents and records would take time and will cause undue injustice to their clients who have remained in detention at the US embassy in Manila awaiting arraignment.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said despite the failure of the government to get custody of the four US servicemen, the more important thing is that they are available for the trial.
Bunye, who is also Presidential spokesman, said the US Government is also fully cooperating with the Philippines as far as the case is concerned.
The Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), has reportedly given up efforts to seek custody of the accused.
The DFA's last communication with the US Embassy was last January 17 wherein it asked for a continued dialogue for the custody of the four personnel. The message was in response to the US Government's rejection of the request for custody last January 16. (ECV/JMR/Sunnex)
(March 28, 2006 issue)
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