Subic rape case tops 2006 Makati headlines

On Dec. 4, Judge Benjamin Pozon of the Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) made history when he sentenced a 21-year old US Marine to 40 years in jail for the rape of a Filipina, known to the public as "Nicole."

Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, who is now temporarily detained in the stockroom of the Makati City Jail, became the first American soldier to be convicted of a crime in the Philippines.

The verdict was a result of some five months of marathon hearings held four days a week and for four hours each day since US military men, under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), can only be compelled to submit themselves to trial for a year after judicial proceedings have begun.

Three other US Marines — Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood, Dominic Duplantis, and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier — were acquitted after the court found insufficient evidence that they participated as principals or accessories in the crime.

Smith was found guilty of raping Nicole inside a moving Hyundai Starex van in Subic, Zambales on the night of Nov. 1, 2005 after leaving the Neptune Club where the woman got drunk.

The prosecution presented 23 witnesses, including the victim herself, who, in one instance, attacked Smith in court with a handbag in an emotional outburst.

The defense presented only seven witnesses, including the four accused who told the court that Smith had consensual sex with Nicole.

Pozon, in his 64-page ruling based on more than 3,500 pages of court records, said the prosecution was able to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. He awarded the victim P100,000 in damages.

The Subic rape case, during the trial, was given so much media attention that testimonies of witnesses alone made the headlines.

It also triggered anti-US demonstrations by various groups who called for the scrapping of the VFA, a 1999 defense accord between Manila and Washington. They charged that its provisions favored the United States and was an affront of Philippine sovereignty.

Nicole’s own lawyers from the Department of Justice (DOJ), her private counsel, and her mother, eventually ended up quarreling over how government prosecutors were allegedly trying to lose the case deliberately and even urged them to enter into a settlement.

Pozon opted not to interpret the treaty until after the promulgation of judgment because of the issue of where Smith will serve his sentence and where he will be detained while his case is on appeal.

Smith’s lawyers are currently asking the Court of Appeals to correct the lower court’s interpretation that "judicial proceedings" end upon conviction.

On that basis, Judge Pozon said Smith cannot be returned to the custody of the US Embassy in Manila, arguing that he should be detained in a Philippine facility now that he had been found guilty.

Binay suspension

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay’s refusal to step down despite an Oct. 17 suspension order issued by Malacañang practically transformed his office on the 21st floor of the city hall building into a political fortress for three straight days.

He only emerged after securing a temporary restraining order from the Court of Appeals on Oct. 19 to greet residents and supporters who rallied behind him and staged rallies outside to prevent anyone from forcing the local chief executive to vacate his post.

For three days, work at city hall came to a halt as Binay fought to resist what he tagged was political harassment from the Arroyo administration and from a known political rival, who accused him of engaging in anomalous transactions which supposedly resulted in the purchase of overpriced furniture worth millions of pesos.

The Office of the Ombudsman, after evaluating a complaint filed by former vice mayor Roberto Brillante, found merit in the charges.

With that, the Office of the President eventually issued a 60-day suspension order on Binay, Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado, and all of the city’s councilors.

Binay, who is also president of the United Opposition (Uno), ignored the suspension order and locked himself up in his office. Key allies visited him during the standoff to declare support.

Binay elevated the case to the CA, which ruled in his favor and issued a restraining order on the suspension order, effectively keeping him at his post.

The court, which is still hearing the case, recently issued a preliminary injunction that extended the TRO until legal questions over the move to unseat him were resolved.

Killer billboards

Mother nature finally proved Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando right in his claim that giant billboards along major thoroughfares pose a danger to the public after one finally collapsed and killed a motorist in Makati City on Sept. 28.

Typhoon Milenyo’s strong winds pounded on the structure until it collapsed.

Felipe Gumapon was killed when the billboard’s massive steel frame crashed on the Toyota Revo he was driving as he was cruising along EDSA-Guadalupe near Estrella Street.

The incident sparked a campaign against the dozens of huge billboards that line up along highways at least for a month.

MMDA officials along with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) started tearing down the structures following a direct order from Malacañang.

Several billboards were dismantled but a lot of them were never touched until the issue died down.

Just a few meters away from the MMDA’s main office in Orense Street in Makati’s Guadalupe district, a huge billboard stands gloriously near a pedestrian overpass and no one appears to be interested in tearing it down.

Fernando, in an interview with The STAR, said they have not forgotten what happened in September but they could not do anything with court orders blocking their way.

"The problem is they (owners and advertisers) keep asking courts for temporary restraining orders and the courts give it to them," he said. "What can we do?"