Posted on 11/24/2005 4:14:07 PM PST by nickcarraway
The woman who cried rape was absent, and so were the six American soldiers who were her alleged abusers.
But the court drama in the first rape complaint to threaten to put a strain on RP-US relations began in Olongapo City, north of Manila, on Wednesday (Nov 23) with the 22-year-old woman's female lawyers ranged against an all-male defense team.
The lawyers sat on opposite sides of the table -- the women dressed in black suits, the men in barong -- exchanging arguments that turned alternately tense and light during the two-hour hearing.
Katrina Legarda, lead counsel for the woman, was not present.
Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuno and Assistant State Prosecutors Pedrito Rances and Miguel Subio were at the Department of Justice's Olongapo prosecution office Wednesday morning, but did not attend the hearing held there starting at 2:25pm.
Officials of the US Embassy and an officer of the US Marines were present as "observers," according to embassy spokesperson Matthew Lussenhop.
Lawyer Maria Sheila Bazar told Olongapo City Prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni that her client was not presenting herself to "protect her privacy."
At least 94 local and foreign journalists had registered to cover the event.
Bazar said the woman's sworn statement had been subscribed before Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Penular of Zambales province.
Lussenhop said in a press conference at the end of the hearing that the six soldiers' "physical presence" had not been required by the office of the city prosecutor.
He said that the six Marines "remained in US custody in the Philippines," and that no charges had been filed against them.
Jalandoni had earlier said he expected the soldiers to be present as "a sign of good faith."
He said the subpoenas served on Nov 8 were sufficient to call them in.
Contentious
The hearing took a contentious turn just 10 minutes into the proceedings when the defense asked for more time to file the soldiers' counteraffidavits, given that the complainant's lawyers had filed a supplemental affidavit by witness Maria Fe Castro.
Citing the rules of court, Francisco Rodrigo Jr., representing Chad Brian Carpentier, invoked his client's right to reply to new evidence cited in Castro's affidavit.
The other lawyers -- Jose Justiniano and Emmanuel Pena Jr. for Albert Lara and Corey Burris; Benjamin Formoso for Daniel Smith; and John Coluso for Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis -- supported Rodrigo's motion.
The woman's lawyers asked for a two-minute recess to settle the issue.
When the hearing resumed, Rodrigo said: "We are ready to file our counteraffidavits. We're not asking for more time. We are not begging, but we are entitled to it."
He had originally sought 10 days to file the counteraffidavits and another 10 days to reply to the Castro supplemental statement.
Justiniano urged the woman's lawyers to "put all (their) cards on the table."
The woman's lawyers agreed to a shorter extension.
Toward the end of the hearing, Prosecutor Jalandoni gave the defense lawyers five days to file the counteraffidavits, including the reply.
He set the second and final hearing on Nov 29.
Material witness
Bazar called Castro a "material witness."
Her colleague, Christine Sevilla, said Castro gave "material facts" and "detailed descriptions" of what she saw almost midnight of Nov 1 near the Alava Pier in the Subic Bay Freeport.
Castro said she and her seven companions saw three Caucasian-looking men and an African-American unload the woman from a rented van along the road in that area.
It was also where the USS Essex of the US troops was docked and set to leave the next morning after a two-week counterterrorism training.
According to Bazar, Castro was absent from the hearing because she did not feel well. She was represented by her lawyer, Randy Escolanggo.
Only three witnesses -- Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority 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 -- attended the hearing. They were not questioned.
Lara -- who, Justiniano said, was "somewhere in Olongapo" -- was to confront van driver Timoteo Soriano Jr. at the hearing.
But neither Soriano nor his lawyer was present.
Lara had sought the confrontation in connection with his request to be dropped as a suspect. He had said he did not fit the descriptions given by the complainant, Soriano and several witnesses.
Why 6?
It being a clarificatory hearing, Jalandoni called Pedro Bautista and his superior, Paquito Torres of the SBMA intelligence and investigation service office, to explain why six names were in the list of suspects.
Bautista said it was Torres who had provided him the list of names. Torres initially invoked the confidentiality of his source, but said later in the hearing that the names had been obtained from Ben Natividad, a special assistant to SBMA Chair Feliciano Salonga.
Torres said Natividad had "reliable information" which was relayed in a text message.
Torres spoke under oath but declined to speak further because he had no lawyer by his side.
The defense lawyers noted Torres' reliance on a text message, and asked if it was a standard operational procedure at his office to "indict a person based on an information not based on a written statement."
Torres said driver Soriano had confirmed the identities of the soldiers when they were presented to him.
He also denied using force on Soriano to make him say that a "gang rape" had happened. "That's not true," he said.
Soriano has yet to submit a statement recanting his sworn statement.
Protests
Outside the Olongapo Hall of Justice, pro- and anti-American protesters gathered as early as 8am.
At least 300 policemen were sent to secure the area and maintain order, said Senior Superintendent Florencio Buentipo, city police chief.
Some 50 members of the Tactical Alliance of Non-Communist Organisations for Democracy (Tanod) led by lawyer Elly Pamatong demanded the transfer of the hearing to Guam.
Members of the women's party-list group Gabriela shouted slogans demanding a fair hearing for the woman and the junking of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
About 200 members of the Partido ng Manggagawa and Sanlakas also massed at the Ulo ng Apo Rotonda in Olongapo.
Shouting "Out Now," members of the militant groups Bayan, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Gabriela and Anakpawis marched from the Rizal Triangle to the main gate of the Subic port.
The militant groups took turns in calling for the junking of the VFA, which they described as a one-sided agreement in favor of visiting US military forces.
Comments
"All Filipinos should stand in solidarity with the rape victim, and the US troops must be made accountable under Philippine laws," said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr.
"The Philippines must assert custody of the suspected US troops. Let us not allow the US government to toy with our legal system, no matter how imperfect it may be," he said.
The Partido ng Manggagawa said it was "appalled" at how the Philippine government was handling the case.
"In a recent meeting with US President (George W.) Bush, President Macapagal-Arroyo chose to practice her social manners rather than demand custody of the US military personnel involved in the case," it said.
Gabriela party-list Representative Liza Maza said Arroyo was paving the way for a whitewash of the case.
"At this point, it has become clear that we cannot rely on the Arroyo government, even in this case of such heinous proportions committed against a Filipino," Maza said.
Pamatong's group burned a Chinese flag to protest what he said was the leftist groups' "prejudgment of the case."
He said the Chinese flag was "the flag of the left-leaning Gabriela group."
Both sides really have their acts together, huh...
I'll try not showing up for work tomorrow. Everything will work out great, so what if nobody's there?
From this end of the world rumor has it two of the six accused already have airtight alibis. And that the woman is a leftist anti-Arroyo partisan. But Ms. Brawley, er, the woman COULD be telling the truth, too. Guess we'll see at the trial.
There's an oxymoron for ya...
Olongapo that paragon of viture renowned for it's virginally pure and tenderhearted women
And the butterfly knife
Bwahahahahahaha
ROTFLMAO!! Hooboy! Not many folks I've run into know about Olongapo and those of us that do ain't talkin'...
Was "stationed dito" there 1988-1990.
You've got to be kidding! In Olongapo City? Everything is for sale there. Sounds like a setup for the Marines to me. Besides, where did those Marines come from? It is at least a 2 hour drive from Manila. We don't have a base at Subic anymore.
I was there in 1972-74 as a dependent.
Maybe the alibis are about all that's "airtight" with the wimmins....
AMEN - it's been a "few" years, but I suspect not that much has changed.
Giving a democrat a uniform and a gun is NOT wise...
There are a surprising number of my (our?) fellow veterans on FR. Their range of knowledge concerning recreational activities throughout the Western Pacific is astounding.
Not "alleged" rape victim? Sounds like a 'guilty till proven innocent' attitude to me.
Like people from the U.S. about Natalee Holloway?
Yep. It's the same thing.
Count me among those blessed ones. Some of the fondest memories of my life were in Olongapo, 1973 to '76. Amazing times!
This freeper was stationed w/ VRC 50 on Cubi Point 1975-8 living off base in Olongapo City. Lived in Manila 78-9 for graduate school and 82-4 with a bullish company.
Indoctrination class in 75 took us to the O-Po City jail to visit American prisoners. Building was made of steel runway matting. Prisoners were all tatoo artists from rival gangs. Hard to forget the sad sailor festooned in filthy tatoos to tired to cry. It was a city of the quick or the dead.
In retrospect, I was thinking how much fun it would have been to take on one of the negrito commando veterans from the JEST camp to spend free days or weeks exploring the jungled mountains of the Bataan peninsula. As it was, my favorite travels were on a Yamaha 250 enduro deep into the back country. Genuine adventures.
The filipino people are very special friends of America. This case stinks. This shows how a few fools can harm so many. What we all need is more Pakikisama.
When I first read this I wondered why anyone would want to rape one of those "ladies?" Or for that matter, why would you have to.
Oh yeah,roger on that for sure, that's why FR is my main source of information, interpretation and verification. I was in Ologapo in '63 via Subic Bay (USS Ranger)for those that might remember that far back.
'Her colleague, Christine Sevilla, said Castro gave "material facts" and "detailed descriptions" of what she saw almost midnight of Nov 1 near the Alava Pier in the Subic Bay Freeport.
Castro said she and her seven companions saw three Caucasian-looking men and an African-American unload the woman from a rented van along the road in that area.
It was also where the USS Essex of the US troops was docked and set to leave the next morning after a two-week counterterrorism training.'
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