The Subic rape case, officially known as People of the Philippines v. Dominic Duplantis, Keith Silkwood, and Daniel Smith, was a criminal case in the Philippines involving a Filipina and four United States marines. It caught wide media coverage and achieved political and international significance because of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the United States and the Philippines, which had been the subject of protests from the beginning.
Initially, the accuser, Suzette Nicolas, alleged that she was gang raped but after a few days, she then said that only Lance Corporal Daniel Smith raped her. She said that just before midnight of November 1, 2005, Smith raped her inside a moving Hyundai Starex van at Alava Pier in the Subic Bay Freeport where the Marines' ship was docked. Nicolas also alleged that Smith's other companions, Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood were inside the van cheering Smith on as it happened. Smith countered the charges saying that what occurred between him and Nicolas was consensual sex.
On December 4, 2006, after numerous court hearings over the course of a year that were open to the public and the media, Judge Benjamin Pozon of the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 139 found Smith guilty of rape, sentencing him to reclusión perpetua, a sentence of 40 years, while the three others were acquitted. Smith was confined in the United States Embassy in Manila, despite the judge's order that he be confined in a Philippine jail, and despite protests from Nicolas's supporters.
On March 17, 2009, Suzette's mother submitted an affidavit from Suzette dated March 12, 2009, saying she wasn't sure that she was raped. There was speculation of corruption and several organisations and congress people demanded an investigation. Following the submission of the affidavit, on April 23, 2009, the Court of Appeals headed by three Filipino female Justices, Associate Justices Monina Arevalo-Zenarosa, Remedios Salazar-Fernando and Myrna Dimaranan-Vidal, reversed the decision of the lower court and ordered Smith's immediate release, stating that "...a careful and judicious perusal of the evidence on record does not convince the prudent mind about the moral certainty of the guilt of the accused, hence we must acquit." The Court of Appeals stated that "If Nicole was really drunk, she would have had a hard time rising up, much more standing up, or she would have just dropped, a common experience among Filipino girls." The CA rejected the trial court's findings that "there may be forcible entry" to explain the injuries in Nicole's genitals..
Background Nicole, who grew up in the Southern Command in Zamboanga City, was invited to Subic Bay by a friend, US Navy Petty Officer Christopher Mills, together with her stepsister, Anna Liza. Mills was a family friend whom they met in Zamboanga, where joint US-Philippine military exercises had been held over the years. Nicole's family operated a canteen which was frequented by soldiers. Nicole, a management accounting graduate, managed the said canteen and in the process befriended military personnel, including Mills and her boyfriend, Brian Goodrich of the 12th Marines Operations Platoon which is based in Okinawa.
Upon the invitation of Mills, and with Goodrich's knowledge, Nicole and Anna Liza flew to Manila and then travelled to Subic Bay. On the night of November 1, 2005, after eating pizza for dinner, Mills invited the two women to the Neptune Bar for drinks. Mills later left the bar, leaving Nicole and Anna Liza behind in the company of other marines, dancing and having more drinks. Forty-five minutes later, Mills returned and found only Anna Liza who had been looking for the missing Nicole. The two then started a search for her.
Around this time, Nicole had been found at the Alavar Pier. She was found extremely drunk and crying with her jeans worn inside out and a condom sticking out of her underwear. Several witnesses surfaced, from the security guard of the bar who saw Smith carrying a drunk Nicole to the van to several other people who saw the marines dumping Nicole at the pier and including the driver of the van rented by the marines. At first, the driver, Timoteo Soriano Jr., accused the marines of raping Nicole. Later, he retracted his statement saying he was forced by police to sign the affidavit accusing the marines. When the marines were questioned, they denied the charges. Smith claimed that he and Nicole had had consensual sex.
Two other accused marines were released from custody after they were able to prove they were buying pizza at the time of the incident and were not in the van.
Trial
As soon as the Philippine Department of Justice started working on the case, it became clear that the rape case and the custody issue of the marines had political significance. During the course of trial, in accordance with the terms of the VFA, the accused were in the custody of the U.S. Embassy. Throughout the trial, the issue of U.S. vs. Philippine custody on the accused U.S. marines was the focus of street demonstrations and protests by political groups and women's rights advocates, and it was a hot news item in the Philippine press.
However, some Filipinos and expatriates believe that Suzette was just an extortionist, whose rape story was just a lie which militants were willing to use to pressure the government on the US-RP Visiting Forces Agreement. Before the court found Smith guilty, columnist Sassy Lawyer of the Manila Standard, lawyer and columnist Connie Veneracion wrote, "One of the popular theories going around is that this is a case of extortion...", concluding, "Without passing on the truth or falsity of such a claim..., extortion is a matter for the defense to establish as a clear motive supported by relevant evidence. Character is not sufficient evidence. Only those without real evidence rely on guesswork, innuendoes and trial by publicity.".
Conviction
Lance Corporal Daniel Smith was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of rape by the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 139 on December 4, 2006.. The court found him guilty on the premise that Suzette was severely intoxicated that night and was therefore deprived of reason to consent to sex and incapable of sensing or fighting off danger. The court relied on the definition of rape in Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, which says: ART. 335. When and how rape is committed Rape is committed by having carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances:
1. By using force or intimidation 2. When the woman is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious 3. When the woman is under twelve years of age or is demented. Suzette's blood alcohol level that night, as revealed by the Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) approximation that was calculated by a team of toxicologists led by Dr. Kenneth Hartigan Go, was pegged at 400 mg/dL-445 mg/dL at its peak that night. However, a BAC test was never conducted on Suzette but it was based on her behavioral manifestations as reported by witnesses and on Suzette's own accounts of the drinks she had consumed that night.
Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
Smith later appealed the case to the Court of Appeals..
Recantation On March 17, 2009, Suzette's mother submitted an affidavit from Suzette dated March 12, 2009, saying she wasn't sure that she was raped. She said that her conscience had been bothering her and that she wanted to move on with her life. She also fired her lawyer, Evalyn Ursua......
Some Philippine solons, notably Senator Loren Legarda, expressed a different view. In a press statement, Legarda pinpointed her perception of the role of the US in Suzette's decision.
On February 8, 2009, St. Louis, Missouri's online news, STL today, featured an interview article of Smith's parents, Jim and Donna Smith, wherein they said that they believe that Daniel Smith was innocent of the rape charges. They also said that his case became a pawn in a political drama and that the case was not about Smith and Suzette anymore.
Senator Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal, a Suzette supporter, believes "perhaps there was a deal [that was] too good to refuse". Suzette's lawyer, Evalyn Ursua suspects that the Malacanang Palace (Philippine President's Office) could be behind the issuance affidavit..
On the contrary, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that the recantation had come as a surprise to the government and that the government had nothing to do with it. Speaker Prospero "Boy" Nograles Jr. and Marikina Congressman Marcelino Teodoro said that politicizing the issue through baseless charges would not help the country. Speaker Nograles also said that, "It's the victim's sole and very personal decision here. The woman is old enough and intelligent enough to make up her own mind. Why should Palace be involved when it was trying to get justice for the victim?". Congressman Teodoro added that the allegations of Lawyer Ursua that the Malacanang Palace had a hand in the retraction should be proven.
Suzette's mother said that nobody pressured Nicole. She also said that it was unlikely that they would ask for help from the Philippine Government because "the government has never helped us.".
Suzette's mother said Suzette left the Philippines in mid-March for the US for good to join her fiancé of two years who is in the US Military and that she had been working on obtaining her US visa for a long time. According to Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Philippine Bureau of Immigration, Suzette flew to Japan and that they didn't have a record of her connecting flight to the US.Tarra Quismundo, Thea Alberto, Erika Tapalla, Mother says ‘Nicole’ left to be with American beau (March 17, 2009), Philippine Daily Inquirer. Susan appealed to the public to allow Suzette to live a normal life.
According to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, all he knew was that Suzette wanted assistance from the Philippine Government in securing a visa for Italy where her brother reportedly stays. He also said that Suzette could face a perjury case for lying under oath which was contradicted by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Antonio Cuenco. Chairman Cuenco said that since Suzette had doubts on what she said during the trial, that didn't make her a perjurer..
Justice Secretary Gonzalez further stated that he should have granted Suzette's wish to remove the "meaty" portions of her affidavit in 2005 when she filed the rape case against Smith. He also added that if he helped her in removing those portions, there "never" would have been a case....
He added that he suspects that anti-US military groups in the country might have originally pressured and "brainwashed" Suzette to pursue the alleged rape charges against Smith and that everybody was "taken for a ride."
Secretary Gonzalez added that maybe Suzette's lawyer, Evalyn Ursua, and the groups who were supporting Suzette told her to pursue the alleged rape case. He added that if Ursua will be found guilty of perjury and for offering false testimony, she could be penalized from prison mayor (six to 20 years) to reclusion perpetua (40 years)..
Secretary Gonzalez also said that Suzette's recantation statement won't hold water because her affidavit is just a scrap of paper.. He also added that Suzette's affidavit may not be admitted as new evidence because it should have been introduced during the 2006 trial..