MANILA, 5 December 2006 — A Philippine court yesterday found an American Marine guilty of raping a Filipina in Subic Bay last year while acquitting his three other companions.
Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith faces up to 40 years in prison following the verdict handed down by Judge Benjamin Pozon of Branch 139 of the Makati regional trial court. He ordered Smith to temporarily serve out his sentence at the Makati City Jail.
Smith was also ordered to pay 50,000 pesos in compensatory and 50,000 pesos in moral damages.
The court acquitted Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood, Lance Cpl. Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier for lack of evidence. Pozon ruled on the case 23 days before the expiry of a one-year deadline under the Visiting Forces Agreement to finish the case or return the Marines to US jurisdiction.
The 23-year-old woman, named Nicole by the court because she cannot be identified by her real name, had accused Smith of raping her at the Subic Bay Freeport on Nov. 1, 2005 while the other three allegedly cheered him on. Smith had claimed that the sex act was “consensual.” The courtroom was placed under heavy security amid protests by leftist groups and women’s rights advocates who had warned acquittals would be unacceptable.
Evalyn Ursua, lawyer for the victim, said acquittals could only be challenged under “exceptional circumstances” under Philippine law. The four Americans had taken part in a joint military exercise hours before the assault.
Smith’s lawyer Ricardo Diaz said his client would appeal a guilty verdict.
Less than two hours after the ruling, a US Navy plane whisked the three acquitted Marines out of the Philippines to rejoin their unit in Okinawa, Japan.
“This has been a difficult and emotional matter for all involved, and for their families and friends,” the US Embassy, which had kept custody of the four Marines during the case, said in a statement.
Smith did not flinch when the verdict was read out but a quick volley of applause broke out inside the court. The victim, a management accounting graduate, burst into tears and said “Thank God.”
“I am saddened the three got acquitted,” the woman said, adding she was “willing to endure everything” in what was likely to be a prolonged legal battle during Smith’s appeal.
“We laud the triumph of impartial justice,” said Ignacio Bunye, spokesman for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. “The court maintained an even keel despite the tremendous pressures upon the bench. We have shown the world that due process is a hallmark of Philippine democracy,” he said.
