RP won’t press custody of GIs in case of conviction -- DoJ
Separate cell with amenities if sentenced
By Tetch Torres - INQ7.net
THE Philippine government will not insist on taking the custody of the four US servicemen accused of raping a Filipina in 2005 in case of a conviction and they decide to file an appeal, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Friday.
And in case of a final conviction, Gonzalez also said the government will allow the construction of a separate cell with amenities such as air conditioning, a television and a refrigerator inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
"But everything has to be shouldered by the US government," he added.
Assuming conviction, Gonzalez said Marine Lance Corporals Daniel Smith, Keith Silkwood, Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier will be allowed to remain under US custody while the case is on appeal.
But he added: "If they lose the appeal, they have to be turned over to us."
The four Americans are accused of raping a 23-year old Filipina at the Subic Bay Freeport on November 1 last year. The verdict in the case is expected to be handed down on December 4 after Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Benjamin Pozon pushed back the original schedule by a week saying he needed more time to study the evidence and make a decision.
The complainant, known publicly as "Nicole," accused Smith of raping her inside a moving van as his three comrades cheered him on.
The prosecution presented 23 witnesses who testified Nicole was too drunk to have consented to sex, and that she was later unloaded from the van and dumped "like a pig" at a pier near the Marines' ship, the USS Essex, which was docked at Subic.
Smith said he and Nicole had consensual sex, a claim backed by the three other Marines.
Pozon held four-hour hearings four times a week from June to October to be able to deliver a verdict within 12 months from the start of the trail, which is required by the Visiting Forces Agreement, or else the Philippines loses jurisdiction over the accused.
With a report from Tarra V. Quismundo, Inquirer
By Tetch Torres - INQ7.net
THE Philippine government will not insist on taking the custody of the four US servicemen accused of raping a Filipina in 2005 in case of a conviction and they decide to file an appeal, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Friday.
And in case of a final conviction, Gonzalez also said the government will allow the construction of a separate cell with amenities such as air conditioning, a television and a refrigerator inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
"But everything has to be shouldered by the US government," he added.
Assuming conviction, Gonzalez said Marine Lance Corporals Daniel Smith, Keith Silkwood, Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier will be allowed to remain under US custody while the case is on appeal.
But he added: "If they lose the appeal, they have to be turned over to us."
The four Americans are accused of raping a 23-year old Filipina at the Subic Bay Freeport on November 1 last year. The verdict in the case is expected to be handed down on December 4 after Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Benjamin Pozon pushed back the original schedule by a week saying he needed more time to study the evidence and make a decision.
The complainant, known publicly as "Nicole," accused Smith of raping her inside a moving van as his three comrades cheered him on.
The prosecution presented 23 witnesses who testified Nicole was too drunk to have consented to sex, and that she was later unloaded from the van and dumped "like a pig" at a pier near the Marines' ship, the USS Essex, which was docked at Subic.
Smith said he and Nicole had consensual sex, a claim backed by the three other Marines.
Pozon held four-hour hearings four times a week from June to October to be able to deliver a verdict within 12 months from the start of the trail, which is required by the Visiting Forces Agreement, or else the Philippines loses jurisdiction over the accused.
With a report from Tarra V. Quismundo, Inquirer
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
7:49 AM
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