Voluminous documentary evidence submitted in Subic rape trial

Confident that they were able to prove the guilt of the accused after more than two months of trial, lawyers for the 22-year-old Filipina allegedly raped by United States Marines in Subic, Zambales have made a formal offer of evidence before the court.

Eight inches thick of documentary evidence were submitted to the Makati City regional trial court (RTC) last Friday by the prosecution, said lawyer Hazel Decena-Valdez, one of the five government prosecutors handling the controversial rape case.

"The voluminous documentary evidence together with vital pieces of real or object evidence appreciated in relation to the testimonies of our witnesses in court sufficiently prove the guilt of the four accused beyond reasonable doubt," Valdez told The STAR.

The motion to admit alone is a 34-page pleading explaining in detail why Branch 139 Judge Benjamin Pozon should admit each and every piece of evidence offered on behalf of the alleged victim, who is known by her court pseudonym "Nicole."

Valdez noted that apart from documents, the prosecution also submitted physical evidence which include the private complainant’s pants, underwear, and the condom allegedly used by Lance Corporal Daniel Smith on the night of the alleged sexual assault.

Benjamin Formoso, Smith’s lawyer, said they have received a copy of the formal offer of evidence and all attachments.

"The annexes alone are more than a thousand pages," Formoso told The STAR.

The 21-year-old Smith, who claims the sex was consensual, is accused of raping a Filipina at the back of a Hyundai Starex van on Nov. 1, 2005 while three other soldiers — Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier — allegedly cheered him on.

The prosecution’s documentary evidence include sworn statements, reports, and other items including a crime laboratory analysis of Smith’s blood sample from the Philippine National Police which matched with the male DNA pattern found in the private complainant’s underwear.

The documents also include four volumes of US Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) reports testified on by several special agents who investigated the alleged rape. 

Formoso said they are now reviewing each and every page of the documents to determine which they would oppose.

"We will study the offer and then submit our comment within the week. Then the court will decide which of those submitted are admissible and which are not," he explained.

Formoso said the defense will be on the look out for documentary and physical evidence which can be tagged as hearsay, double hearsay, or triple hearsay.

"Titingnan din namin yung conclusions kasi the offers may be contrary to documents submitted. Dapat ’yung evidence lang," Formoso said.

The process of formally offering evidence by the prosecution has so far stalled the proceedings for some three weeks now.

The defense’s turn to present witnesses and evidence has been set for Sept. 11.

The marathon hearings suffered the delay after lawyers of the accused said they will only begin after the prosecution has rest its case and makes its formal offer of evidence.

The court gave both parties a week to file their motions and comments in an effort to still speed up the trial since the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) gives it only a year to finish the case.

On Sept. 11, Smith will take the witness stand as the defense’s first witness while Nicole sits in the gallery to watch the proceedings.

During the first two months of the trial, all four accused religiously attended the hearings while the prosecution presented witnesses, including Nicole herself who in one of her emotional outbursts, cursed the US Marines.

The prosecution presented a total of 23 witnesses as opposed to the defense’s plan to present 10 or less, including the four accused.