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Friday, October 06, 2006
Nicole trial ends; ruling set Nov. 27
MANILA -- The landmark trial of the controversial rape case filed by a 23-year-old Filipino woman against four US Marines concluded on Wednesday after the prosecution panel decided to dispense with the presentation of their rebuttal witness.
With the end of the trial, Judge Benjamin Pozon formally scheduled the promulgation of the controversial case on November 27 or a month before the one-year prescription period as called for under the 1998 RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which governed limited prosecution of US military personnel while undergoing anti-terror training exercises with their Filipino counterparts.
Pozon earlier ruled that the one-year period should start on December 27, 2005 when the case was formally filed before the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court (RTC).
Both parties agreed with the prosecution's manifestation not to present the rebuttal and the court ordered them to submit within 30 days their respective memorandum on the case.
The prosecution is originally scheduled to present Guy Papageorge, a special agent of the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) to rebut the testimony of accused Lance Corporal Daniel Smith before the Makati City Court.
In his testimony, Smith, a native of Thibodaux Louisiana told the court that he did not make the statement embodied in the interrogation reports of Papageorge that formed part of the prosecution's evidence, that the other accused, namely, Staff Sergeant Chad Brian Carpentier and Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis, "cheered on" while he was allegedly raping the complainant, given the pseudonym Nicole to hide her identity, inside a moving van at the former US naval base at Subic, Zambales on the night of November 1, 2005.
The decision not to present their rebuttal, according to Senior State Prosecutor Emelie de los Santos, was made after careful evaluation that the evidence they presented before the court was more than enough for a "very strong case."
The prosecution had 23 witnesses, including the complainant, who pointed to Smith as the one who raped her while the other accused allegedly egged him on.
The defense was able to wrap up their presentation with the testimony of all the accused, a forensic gynecologist who testified as an expert witness, and another US Marine, who is formerly a close friend of Nicole.
Smith dismissed the charges saying that Nicole a "willing participant" in the act.
In an interview Tuesday with a local television network, he insisted on his innocence and vowed to fight to clear his name.
"We evaluated before making the decision not to present the rebuttal," stressed the lady prosecutor, adding that their evidence plus the inconsistencies of the testimony of the accused, only strengthened their case.
De los Santos particularly pointed to the testimony of Duplantis, who admitted to the court he was the most drunk among the group after having imbibed 13 bottles of beer since the afternoon of the day of the alleged incident but was able to remember what happened that night.
Another prosecutor, Hazel Valdez, for her part said they are now concentrating on their comment to the accused's formal offer of evidence, which under the Rules of Court, they are required to submit in four days.
Valdez said they only got the copies of the offer late this week instead of last week although the defense said it was due to the Typhoon Milenyo, which wrought devastation and forced the temporary suspension of offices in the metropolis.
The case has stirred bitter emotions in the former American colony and has triggered calls for the abrogation of the military agreement and protest actions from militant groups who resented the presence of US military personnel in the country.
It has also tainted the ongoing anti-terror training program conducted by the US military which is credited with helping Filipino troops crushed Muslim militants in Mindanao. (Sunnex)
(October 6, 2006 issue)
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