Lead prosecutor wants to settle Subic rape case, says victim's ma
The lead prosecutor handling the rape case against four US marines wants the case settled out of court, the complainant's mother told Bandila Friday.
The complainant's mother said Chief State Prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos approached her last June and tried to persuade her to agree to a settlement.
She said the prosecutor also warned that if she did not cut a deal, "then your daughter's case could be used as a trade-off for the Jocelyn Bolante case."
"She told me: 'Ask whatever you want. Write it down.' I told her I couldn't decide for my daughter. That's her life. It's not mine,'" she told Bandila.
She added that she was shocked that [de los Santos] "would say that especially since she is the head of the panel (of prosecutors),"
Jocelyn Bolante, a former agricultural undersecretary, was arrested in Los Angeles Airport for carrying an expired tourist visa. Extraditing Bolante could prove unfavorable for the Arroyo administration after he was tagged as the mastermind in the alleged misappropriation of fertilizer funds to President Arroyo's presidential campaign two years ago.
The complainant, "Nicole", has accused four US marines of raping her inside a moving van in the former Subic naval base last year. The marines have denied the charges, claiming they were being framed after one of them had consensual sex with Nicole.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez dismissed the allegation that the Subic rape case would be used as a trade-off for the Bolante case. "The President is very disinterested in the case. She is not at all concerned with Bolante," he said.
Nicole's mother said de los Santos approached her last month after the prosecution had presented its last witness and asked her again to drop the case.
"This is what we'll do. Before the defense starts, we'll have Nicole sit in the courtroom and testify that she doesn't want to continue, that she's tired and that her lawyer cannot do anything any more," the mother recalled de los Santos as saying.
She said she kept the conversations secret from Nicole and their private lawyer, Evalyn Ursua, because she wanted to continue trusting the government prosecutors.
She added, however, that she got fed up after the prosecutors failed to properly cross-examine the prime suspect, Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, during Monday's hearing.
"Even the judge kept saying 'incompetent, immaterial.' The people in the gallery were booing. They already caught on. They were whispering. Whatever the defense lawyers dictated, [de los Santos] just affirmed. It just confirmed what she told me," she said.
Last Thursday Nicole and her mother requested the Department of Justice (DOJ) to replace all but one of the public prosecutors trying the case due to fears of a whitewash.
"They want to lose the case," Nicole said, hours after she and her mother stormed out of the court in protest against the handling of the rape complaint.
"They were not prepared and sincere in their work. They should be attacking."
Gonzalez, however, said he has no plans to replace the prosecution team until he can evaluate the request of the complainant. "That's precisely what I don't like. Who are they to judge who's incompetent or not among my prosecutors? I don't like any party dictating this department," he said.
Presiding Judge Benjamin Pozon postponed a hearing of the case on Friday to give the DOJ more time to decide on Nicole's request.
Gonzalez, however, said replacing the prosecuting team could delay the case further.
Hazel Valdez, the lone prosecutor who gained favor from the complainant's family, also felt disappointed about the request for replacements.
"For the longest time, we have been sacrificing for this case. It was really unfair and it really hurt us. They have been apologetic," Valdez said.
Under a Visiting Forces Agreement between the two countries, Judge Pozon has one year from the filing of the case last December to hear evidence and give a verdict. Testimony is expected to finish by October with hearings four times a week.
With a report from Reuters
The complainant's mother said Chief State Prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos approached her last June and tried to persuade her to agree to a settlement.
She said the prosecutor also warned that if she did not cut a deal, "then your daughter's case could be used as a trade-off for the Jocelyn Bolante case."
"She told me: 'Ask whatever you want. Write it down.' I told her I couldn't decide for my daughter. That's her life. It's not mine,'" she told Bandila.
She added that she was shocked that [de los Santos] "would say that especially since she is the head of the panel (of prosecutors),"
Jocelyn Bolante, a former agricultural undersecretary, was arrested in Los Angeles Airport for carrying an expired tourist visa. Extraditing Bolante could prove unfavorable for the Arroyo administration after he was tagged as the mastermind in the alleged misappropriation of fertilizer funds to President Arroyo's presidential campaign two years ago.
The complainant, "Nicole", has accused four US marines of raping her inside a moving van in the former Subic naval base last year. The marines have denied the charges, claiming they were being framed after one of them had consensual sex with Nicole.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez dismissed the allegation that the Subic rape case would be used as a trade-off for the Bolante case. "The President is very disinterested in the case. She is not at all concerned with Bolante," he said.
Nicole's mother said de los Santos approached her last month after the prosecution had presented its last witness and asked her again to drop the case.
"This is what we'll do. Before the defense starts, we'll have Nicole sit in the courtroom and testify that she doesn't want to continue, that she's tired and that her lawyer cannot do anything any more," the mother recalled de los Santos as saying.
She said she kept the conversations secret from Nicole and their private lawyer, Evalyn Ursua, because she wanted to continue trusting the government prosecutors.
She added, however, that she got fed up after the prosecutors failed to properly cross-examine the prime suspect, Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, during Monday's hearing.
"Even the judge kept saying 'incompetent, immaterial.' The people in the gallery were booing. They already caught on. They were whispering. Whatever the defense lawyers dictated, [de los Santos] just affirmed. It just confirmed what she told me," she said.
Last Thursday Nicole and her mother requested the Department of Justice (DOJ) to replace all but one of the public prosecutors trying the case due to fears of a whitewash.
"They want to lose the case," Nicole said, hours after she and her mother stormed out of the court in protest against the handling of the rape complaint.
"They were not prepared and sincere in their work. They should be attacking."
Gonzalez, however, said he has no plans to replace the prosecution team until he can evaluate the request of the complainant. "That's precisely what I don't like. Who are they to judge who's incompetent or not among my prosecutors? I don't like any party dictating this department," he said.
Presiding Judge Benjamin Pozon postponed a hearing of the case on Friday to give the DOJ more time to decide on Nicole's request.
Gonzalez, however, said replacing the prosecuting team could delay the case further.
Hazel Valdez, the lone prosecutor who gained favor from the complainant's family, also felt disappointed about the request for replacements.
"For the longest time, we have been sacrificing for this case. It was really unfair and it really hurt us. They have been apologetic," Valdez said.
Under a Visiting Forces Agreement between the two countries, Judge Pozon has one year from the filing of the case last December to hear evidence and give a verdict. Testimony is expected to finish by October with hearings four times a week.
With a report from Reuters
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