5 US Marines deny rape in Subic

Five US Marines denied yesterday their involvement in the alleged gang- rape of a 22-year-old Filipina while a sixth complained that the accuser changed her charges at the last minute.

Lawyers for Keith Silkwood, Albert Lara, Corey Barris, Chad Carpenter and Dominic Duplantis submitted statements to a state prosecutor maintaining they did not rape the woman.

Benjamin Formoso, lawyer for the sixth Marine, Daniel Smith, said the suspect would submit his response at a later date, claiming the accuser’s affidavit had been filed on a "piecemeal basis" with new and shifting details.

In a statement submitted last week, the woman charged that the six US servicemen gang-raped her in a van on Nov. 1 in Subic.

Van driver Timoteo Soriano initially claimed that he witnessed the incident but later recanted his statement.

Soriano claimed he was punched twice by a police investigator in order to force him to sign a statement saying the woman was gang-raped by the Marines.

Soriano ended up being included in the charge sheet as having assisted in the crime and has been ordered to submit his own statement at the next hearing on Dec. 9.

Neither the accused nor the woman was present at the preliminary hearing.

In their statements, Silkwood, Carpenter and Duplantis said they rode in the rented van from Neptune nightclub to their ship, the USS Essex, with Smith and the woman in the backseat, but they saw the two just kissing and witnessed nothing untoward.

"I categorically deny the allegation that I, along with the other Marines in the van, gang-raped (the) complainant," Carpenter said in a sworn statement submitted by his lawyer before prosecutors investigating the case.

"No such crime occurred," Carpenter said.

Silkwood, for his part, stated: "There is no truth to the charges being leveled at me."

He said the statements of the woman and her witnesses "are full of lies and half-truths obviously meant to prop up and strengthen the fabricated charges."

Silkwood admitted though that he was with the other suspects inside the Neptune Club that evening.

Inside the club, Silkwood claimed he saw Smith sitting on a chair with the woman sitting on his lap.

"The complainant was slouched, leaning against him with her back against his chest," Silkwood said.

Minutes later, Silkwood reminded Smith that they had to go. He confirmed that Soriano, their driver, was already waiting for them outside the club.

He added that Smith and the woman were walking "side by side" and got into the back seat of the van.

"After they got in, the van started moving while Smith and the complainant were in the back kissing. I knew this was going on because I could hear them," Silkwood narrated.

Silkwood claimed he did not hear or see any sign of struggle nor did he confirm claims that the Americans were yelling "go, Smith, go!" as was originally alleged by Soriano in his earlier statement.

"It is crystal clear that there was no gang rape, whether individually or in conspiracy with others, ever committed," Silkwood insisted.

Meanwhile the other two US soldiers, Barris and Lara, denied they were in the van, claiming they just walked back to their ship, buying a pizza along the way. Their lawyers presented the receipt for the pizza as proof.

Prosecutors have turned down a request from Katrina Legarda, the woman’s lawyer, to compel the US Embassy to turn over custody of the Americans to Philippine authorities.

Legarda led an all-female legal team for the victim, five of them clad in pink.

Legarda questioned the continued refusal of the US Embassy to provide prosecutors with a copy of the passports or other valid identification cards of the six American servicemen.

The six Americans, who have not yet been charged, did not attend the preliminary hearing in Olongapo City yesterday.

They have been placed under custody of the US Embassy in Manila while the US government has not replied to the diplomatic note sent by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) seeking custody over them.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo has asked the US Embassy to turn over the suspects, citing the sensitivity of the case.

US Embassy Press Attaché Matthew Lussenhop told a news conference after the preliminary hearing yesterday that "the physical presence of the Marines was not required by the Office of the City Prosecutor, although all six remain in US custody in the Philippines."

"The US is working with Philippine authorities under the precepts of the Visiting Forces Agreement and will cooperate closely with them to ensure this case is handled fairly and that justice is done," Lussenhop said.

Lussenhop also revealed a separate investigation is being conducted by the US Naval Investigation Service (NIS).

On the other hand, Legarda and the woman’s other lawyers expressed confidence that the case remains strong enough to put the six US servicemen behind bars.

Lawyers Sheila Bazar and Raymund Escolango said the submission of a supplemental affidavit by vital witness Fe Castro provided a detailed description of the "gruesome ordeal" suffered by the victim at the hands of the six US Marines.

Outside the building where the preliminary hearing was held, about 150 protesters held a rally where they burned pictures of the six Americans and chanted anti-US slogans.

The case has drawn widespread media attention and some human rights advocates say it has opened up old wounds caused by past abuses.

Protesters demanded an end to the joint military exercises in the Philippines and the scrapping of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that allows US military forces to train in the country. — With AFP, AP, Ric Sapnu