Subic rape victim's lawyer vows to fight raps downgrade
By Tarra Quismundo - Inquirer
THE PRIVATE lawyer of the woman who accused four US Marines of rape vowed to oppose the expected downgrading of the criminal charges against three of the accused.
Evalyn Ursua said on Friday she would file an opposition to the government prosecution panel's planned modification of the criminal information against the American servicemen.
The amendment would adopt a Department of Justice (DoJ) resolution dropping the charge of rape against three of the Marines, naming them as accessories instead of principals.
"We will file an opposition to the motion amending the information, downgrading the charges [against the three] to accessory... We will definitely oppose it because we believe it is legally and factually incorrect," Ursua told reporters after the Friday hearing.
"We have to recognize that it's the city prosecutor who has control and supervision over the prosecution of this crime. However, the private complainant, also has her rights in the case... to oppose the motion. There are instances when the private complainant has to stand on her own to defend her rights, and we cannot compromise that because the [public prosecutors] have taken a particular position," she said.
The newly assembled prosecution panel, however, said it would welcome the opposition.
"That's [to be] expected because if they believe that the resolution is not to their satisfaction, they could oppose [it]. There are instances that the complainant has an independent right... There are certain aspects of the case that they can take action [on] independently," said Makati City Prosecutor Feliciano Aspi, named chief of the prosecution panel.
Judge Benjamin Pozon of Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 139 had set the arraignment of the four accused -- Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier and Marine Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis -- for Friday afternoon.
The four, who have remained in the custody of US authorities by virtue of the Visiting Forces Agreement, were charged upon the complaint filed by a 22-year-old Filipino woman, who alleged that the servicemen raped her on Nov. 1 last year in a cruising van at the Subic Bay Freeport.
The court, however, has yet to take cognizance of the DoJ's resolution naming only Smith as the principal accused, for which he may face life imprisonment if convicted. Hence, the court still has at hand the original case, where all four are principals.
THE PRIVATE lawyer of the woman who accused four US Marines of rape vowed to oppose the expected downgrading of the criminal charges against three of the accused.
Evalyn Ursua said on Friday she would file an opposition to the government prosecution panel's planned modification of the criminal information against the American servicemen.
The amendment would adopt a Department of Justice (DoJ) resolution dropping the charge of rape against three of the Marines, naming them as accessories instead of principals.
"We will file an opposition to the motion amending the information, downgrading the charges [against the three] to accessory... We will definitely oppose it because we believe it is legally and factually incorrect," Ursua told reporters after the Friday hearing.
"We have to recognize that it's the city prosecutor who has control and supervision over the prosecution of this crime. However, the private complainant, also has her rights in the case... to oppose the motion. There are instances when the private complainant has to stand on her own to defend her rights, and we cannot compromise that because the [public prosecutors] have taken a particular position," she said.
The newly assembled prosecution panel, however, said it would welcome the opposition.
"That's [to be] expected because if they believe that the resolution is not to their satisfaction, they could oppose [it]. There are instances that the complainant has an independent right... There are certain aspects of the case that they can take action [on] independently," said Makati City Prosecutor Feliciano Aspi, named chief of the prosecution panel.
Judge Benjamin Pozon of Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 139 had set the arraignment of the four accused -- Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier and Marine Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis -- for Friday afternoon.
The four, who have remained in the custody of US authorities by virtue of the Visiting Forces Agreement, were charged upon the complaint filed by a 22-year-old Filipino woman, who alleged that the servicemen raped her on Nov. 1 last year in a cruising van at the Subic Bay Freeport.
The court, however, has yet to take cognizance of the DoJ's resolution naming only Smith as the principal accused, for which he may face life imprisonment if convicted. Hence, the court still has at hand the original case, where all four are principals.
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