'Rape case taints Subic's image'
By ANGELO LAPITAN GUTIERREZ
abs-cbnNEWS.com
An official of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said Saturday the Subic rape case has created a negative public perception of the free port.
At the weekly Kapihan sa Sulo, SBMA Chief Executive Officer Armand Arreza said because of the alleged November 1 rape of a 22-year-old Filipina, the public sees Subic as an unsafe place to visit.
"People are thinking that it’s not safe in Subic," Arreza said adding that the observation was unfair "because [security] is one of [SBMA's] selling features."
He said, however, Subic’s income in terms of investments and tourism was not affected by the unfavorable view.
He said that on the positive side, SBMA was able to prove its efficiency in responding to crimes. He noted that the free port’s police were able to account for the US marines implicated in the alleged rape only a day after the incident.
Arreza also cited the protection extended to the complainant and her family after the incident.
The Makati City Regional Trial Court hears the case four times a week in order to meet the "one-year" deadline to finish the trial against Daniel Smith, Chad Carpentier, Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood.
On Friday the complainant who was given the pseudonym "Nicole" was grilled by defense lawyers for having a selective memory of the incident.
During cross-examination Nicole could not give specific details about the alleged rape that occurred in Subic last November.
She said earlier she was taken from a Subic nightclub by four Americans and that she later found one of the Americans lying on top of her, fondling and kissing her.
Questioned on where she was kissed, the woman said: "I remember being kissed but I don't exactly remember how."
Asked if she screamed for her alleged attacker to stop, the woman said: "I don't remember what I was screaming, I just remember screaming."
She said: "I was really drunk and was feeling very weak."
Defense lawyer Jose Justiniano said that after the hearing the woman did not remember key points of the incident.
"We feel that she was selective in her testimony since most of the time she said she cannot remember, but the thing is she can remember the drinks ordered [at the nightclub,]" he said.
Justiniano said it was puzzling that the complainant could not remember such details as how the accused had kissed and touched her.
But prosecutors said the woman's memory was naturally selective because of the trauma of the incident.
Prosecutors said Smith raped the woman while three others cheered him on.
Smith had said the sex was consensual. All four accused have denied the charges against them, but if found guilty could face up to 40 years in jail
abs-cbnNEWS.com
An official of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said Saturday the Subic rape case has created a negative public perception of the free port.
At the weekly Kapihan sa Sulo, SBMA Chief Executive Officer Armand Arreza said because of the alleged November 1 rape of a 22-year-old Filipina, the public sees Subic as an unsafe place to visit.
"People are thinking that it’s not safe in Subic," Arreza said adding that the observation was unfair "because [security] is one of [SBMA's] selling features."
He said, however, Subic’s income in terms of investments and tourism was not affected by the unfavorable view.
He said that on the positive side, SBMA was able to prove its efficiency in responding to crimes. He noted that the free port’s police were able to account for the US marines implicated in the alleged rape only a day after the incident.
Arreza also cited the protection extended to the complainant and her family after the incident.
The Makati City Regional Trial Court hears the case four times a week in order to meet the "one-year" deadline to finish the trial against Daniel Smith, Chad Carpentier, Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood.
On Friday the complainant who was given the pseudonym "Nicole" was grilled by defense lawyers for having a selective memory of the incident.
During cross-examination Nicole could not give specific details about the alleged rape that occurred in Subic last November.
She said earlier she was taken from a Subic nightclub by four Americans and that she later found one of the Americans lying on top of her, fondling and kissing her.
Questioned on where she was kissed, the woman said: "I remember being kissed but I don't exactly remember how."
Asked if she screamed for her alleged attacker to stop, the woman said: "I don't remember what I was screaming, I just remember screaming."
She said: "I was really drunk and was feeling very weak."
Defense lawyer Jose Justiniano said that after the hearing the woman did not remember key points of the incident.
"We feel that she was selective in her testimony since most of the time she said she cannot remember, but the thing is she can remember the drinks ordered [at the nightclub,]" he said.
Justiniano said it was puzzling that the complainant could not remember such details as how the accused had kissed and touched her.
But prosecutors said the woman's memory was naturally selective because of the trauma of the incident.
Prosecutors said Smith raped the woman while three others cheered him on.
Smith had said the sex was consensual. All four accused have denied the charges against them, but if found guilty could face up to 40 years in jail
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