Nearly a year after a 21-year-old US Marine was found guilty of raping a 23-year-old Filipina, the victim and her family are still waiting for the country’s legal system to grant them absolute justice.
Nicole, the woman who courageously told the world how she was sexually abused by Lance Corporal Daniel Smith inside a Hyundai Starex van at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone on the night of Nov. 1, 2005, is now trying to live a normal life.
Yet everything is still on hold, Nicole’s private counsel told The STAR.
Atty. Evalyn Ursua said Smith’s appeal before the Court Appeals has been submitted for resolution as well as the contempt charge filed against those who transferred Smith to the US Embassy after he was ordered committed to the Makati City Jail by Makati City regional trial court (RTC) Judge Benjamin Pozon on Dec. 4, 2006.
“The petition at Supreme Court on the constitutionality and legality of the Visiting Forces Agreement has also been submitted for resolution,” she added, noting that all she and her client can do now is wait.
“(Nicole) is trying to live a normal life. She is still deeply concerned about the case and what’s happening since the appeal is up for decision,” Ursua told The STAR.
“I know that she has been monitoring the news about the joint US-RP military exercises and that she took note of a news item that said there will be no rape this time. She’s worried about the forthcoming decisions,” the lawyer said.
Asked about Smith, Ursua said she doesn’t really know where or how he is or if he is still indeed inside the US Embassy in Manila.
Ursua said she believes that the government has not been transparent about any monitoring activity though “they owe it to Nicole, to the people, to us.”
Last Nov. 1 marked the 2nd anniversary of the rape that made headlines and Dec. 4 will mark the 1st anniversary of the decision that sent a US soldier to jail for the rape of a Filipina.
Nicole and her family, who were supposed to be paid P100,000 for compensatory and moral damages, have not received a single centavo because of the appeal.
On the other hand, Smith’s camp is hopeful of a reversal of the decision though they believe that it will take more time.
Smith’s lawyer Atty. Jose Justiniano said he told Smith that he would have to be patient and last spoke with him in September.
“He’s okay. Naiintindihan naman niya (He understands). The appeal is up for resolution,” Justiniano told The STAR, believing, however, that it does not mean the decision will be out soon. – Michael Punongbayan