Van driver in Subic rape case gets ‘reprieve’
Judge to wait for CA ruling
By Tarra Quismundo -- Inquirer
AS A MATTER of courtesy to a higher court, a Makati judge has deferred ruling on the reinstatement of a van driver as the fifth accused in the celebrated Subic rape case filed by a Filipino woman against four American Marines.
Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Benjamin Pozon, in a two-page order released Friday, held in abeyance the court’s resolution on a motion of state prosecutors to again include Timoteo Soriano Jr. as an accused in the case.
Without discussing the motion’s merits, Pozon said he would defer his judgment until the Court of Appeals rules on a similar petition by private prosecutors questioning Soriano’s discharge from the case and seeking his reinstatement.
Soriano’s lawyer, Jose Raulito Paras, considered the order, dated September 5, a “partial victory.”
“The court, in a way, granted our position that it must await the appellate court’s resolution on the private prosecution’s pending petition before deciding on the reinstatement motion,” said Paras.
“That is the most prudent position for the court. For us, the [order] was an exercise of judicial courtesy... effectively denying the reinstatement motion because the court will await the resolution from the Court of Appeals,” Paras said in a phone interview.
State prosecutors want Soriano to be again included as one of the accused in the Subic rape case, citing a resolution by the Department of Justice which upheld probable cause against him. The resolution was a result of a preliminary investigation ordered by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez.
The driver was initially charged as a co-conspirator of Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier, Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis, Keith Silkwood and Daniel Smith in allegedly raping a Filipino woman -- identified in media reports as “Nicole” -- on board a Starex van, which he drove on November 1, 2005 inside the Subic Bay Freeport.
Soriano, however, was discharged on January 13 on orders of Olongapo Judge Renato Dilag, the first judge to handle the case, who found no probable cause to indict the driver for the conspiracy.
But the DOJ, through a resolution dated June 27, disagreed with Dilag: “At the time the complainant was being raped, he (Soriano) was driving the van in very low gear to give more opportunity to his co-conspirator to perpetrate his evil desire. Clearly, his participation was not merely companionship.”
Alleging that he had been coerced, Soriano recanted a statement where he said he witnessed the gang rape inside the Starex van, and that he drove slowly as Smith allegedly raped Nicole while the three others cheered him on.
The trial against the US Marines is set to resume on Monday, with the defense panel starting the presentation of witnesses. The prosecution presented 23 witnesses before resting on August 17.
By Tarra Quismundo -- Inquirer
AS A MATTER of courtesy to a higher court, a Makati judge has deferred ruling on the reinstatement of a van driver as the fifth accused in the celebrated Subic rape case filed by a Filipino woman against four American Marines.
Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Benjamin Pozon, in a two-page order released Friday, held in abeyance the court’s resolution on a motion of state prosecutors to again include Timoteo Soriano Jr. as an accused in the case.
Without discussing the motion’s merits, Pozon said he would defer his judgment until the Court of Appeals rules on a similar petition by private prosecutors questioning Soriano’s discharge from the case and seeking his reinstatement.
Soriano’s lawyer, Jose Raulito Paras, considered the order, dated September 5, a “partial victory.”
“The court, in a way, granted our position that it must await the appellate court’s resolution on the private prosecution’s pending petition before deciding on the reinstatement motion,” said Paras.
“That is the most prudent position for the court. For us, the [order] was an exercise of judicial courtesy... effectively denying the reinstatement motion because the court will await the resolution from the Court of Appeals,” Paras said in a phone interview.
State prosecutors want Soriano to be again included as one of the accused in the Subic rape case, citing a resolution by the Department of Justice which upheld probable cause against him. The resolution was a result of a preliminary investigation ordered by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez.
The driver was initially charged as a co-conspirator of Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier, Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis, Keith Silkwood and Daniel Smith in allegedly raping a Filipino woman -- identified in media reports as “Nicole” -- on board a Starex van, which he drove on November 1, 2005 inside the Subic Bay Freeport.
Soriano, however, was discharged on January 13 on orders of Olongapo Judge Renato Dilag, the first judge to handle the case, who found no probable cause to indict the driver for the conspiracy.
But the DOJ, through a resolution dated June 27, disagreed with Dilag: “At the time the complainant was being raped, he (Soriano) was driving the van in very low gear to give more opportunity to his co-conspirator to perpetrate his evil desire. Clearly, his participation was not merely companionship.”
Alleging that he had been coerced, Soriano recanted a statement where he said he witnessed the gang rape inside the Starex van, and that he drove slowly as Smith allegedly raped Nicole while the three others cheered him on.
The trial against the US Marines is set to resume on Monday, with the defense panel starting the presentation of witnesses. The prosecution presented 23 witnesses before resting on August 17.
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
9:29 AM
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