Nicole’s Testimony Strong and Unimpeached ― Prosecution

As the direct examination of the Filipina complainant on the Subic rape case ended July 14, prosecution lawyers said the defense failed to destroy her testimony.

BY JHONG DELA CRUZ
Bulatlat

Her family, lawyers and supporters hugged her and heaved a sigh of relief as Nicole, the 22 year-old Filipina complainant in the Subic rape case, emerged without a tear from the witness stand.

Nicole filed rape charges against main accused Lance Corporal Daniel Smith and three more U.S. Marines namely, Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier, who allegedly cheered while Smith allegedly raped Nicole inside a cruising van at Subic Bay Freeport on Nov. 1.

Nicole’s private lawyer Evalyn Ursua maintained that Nicole’s testimony accusing the four U.S. Marines of rape remains strong.

“They failed to destroy Nicole’s statement,” she said.

Ursua concluded that the defense failed to disprove Nicole’s testimony when it chose not to further throw questions during the cross-examination.

This, after only Patricia Formosa, lawyer of main accused Smith, questioned Nicole on the issues of intoxication and her relationship with U.S. servicemen.  The court session lasted for only about 40 minutes.

The defense, headed by lawyer Jose Justiniano, told reporters after the session that Nicole’s testimony was “unreliable”.

Ashamed

Nicole was composed during Friday’s direct examination, compared to the three previous trial days when she narrated the events leading to her alleged rape, which caused her “re-traumatization”.

Formosa asked Nicole to recall the lapses of time in between the drinks that the 22-year old Filipina took on the night of November 1 when the alleged rape occurred. Nicole drunk at least six times at Neptune bar when she was dragged outside by Smith into a waiting van.

Nicole, who begun her direct testimony on July 6, testified that she was too drunk to fight off the sexual assault that happened inside a cruising van.

Asked whether she thought of settling in the U.S., Nicole clarified she would go there only to finally settle with her boyfriend Brian Goodrich. Nicole revealed in her testimony yesterday, that her case has hampered her from processing her papers to the U.S.

But it was Judge Benjamin Pozon’s clarificatory questioning that pushed Nicole at the brink of tears during Friday’s court session.

Pozon asked the details of how Nicole struggled to prevent Smith from assaulting her, and how she subsequently reported to authorities about the alleged rape.

Nicole could only recall that she fought and shouted. But being scared, weak and dizzy from intoxication, her efforts failed.

The judge further asked how Smith played with Nicole’s breast during the assault.  The victim looked down and whispered, “Nahihiya ako.” (I am ashamed.)

“How did Smith kiss you on the neck and lips?” asked Pozon.

Nicole answered, “Basta hinalikan lang niya ako.” (All I remembered was that he kissed me.)

When a guard of the Neptune club saw how she was “dumped like a pig” from the van, Pozon asked why she didn’t immediately told him what happened.

She only told the guard that Smith did something “bad” to her. Asked what she meant by “something bad” she told the court, “Rape.”

“Hindi naman ako proud na sabihin sa mga tao na na-rape ako,” (I am not proud to tell other people that I was raped.) she said.

On July 17, the prosecution is set to present Timoteo Soriano, the driver of the rented Starex van where the crime took place. Soriano told authorities during the pre-trial investigation that what happened was gang-rape.  But he later recanted his statement and claimed that he was only forced to say so.

The prosecution has presented 20 witnesses, including Nicole, and will present five more in the next trial dates. The panel had originally prepared 40 witnesses, but the number was reduced to 25, because some witnesses would only give supporting testimonies.

Less traumatic

Dr. June Pagaduan-Lopez, a psychiatrist and Nicole’s therapist, heaved a sigh of relief after the short cross-examination.

“We felt relieved because it is now over, it’s less traumatic for Nicole,” said Pagaduan-Lopez.

She asserted that though Nicole suffers from selective memory, it is but natural for victims of sexual assault.

“There are patients who could not remember what happened to them and only through counseling, in the process of recovering, are they able to recall everything,” she said. These patients, she told Bulatlat, would stay “blank” and suffer for long time.

Earlier, she said, Nicole also had to face her anger at the violator who, Lopez noted, has removed from the victim her sense of self-control.  She also has to confront her anger at herself for allowing the assault to happen.

This explains Nicole’s sudden outburst the week that she took the witness stand. During Monday’s hearing, Nicole hit Smith with her bag when the latter reportedly tripped her upon entering the courtroom. On Thursday, Nicole told the court she wanted to kill her perpetrators if she could because they destroyed her dignity.

Ryan, 23, Nicole’s older brother said in an interview that the family could now relax after weeks of prayers for his sister.

Ryan said he chose to be with Nicole during the court sessions. His job as sales management officer in a manufacturing company had already been affected by the case.

“Our family even got closer because of this case…our support for her (Nicole) cause remain strong,” he said. Bulatlat

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