4 GIs in rape case learn ‘Filipino 101’

The four US Marines accused of raping a Filipina at Subic Freeport Zone in Zambales last year are getting a crash course in "Filipino 101" as terms in the local language are being used in court to describe the alleged crime in lurid detail.

Lance Corporals Daniel Smith, Keith Silkwood, Dominic Duplantis, and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier have been learning the English equivalents of such terms as bakay-bakay, diumano and malagkit since the marathon trial began last June 2 at the Makati City regional trial court. 

The term "bakay-bakay" was lesson No. 1 when lawyers of the 22-year-old victim presented their first two witnesses more than a week ago.

The term, which refers to a piggyback ride, was mentioned to describe how Smith allegedly carried the victim out of the Neptune Club on the night of Nov. 1, 2005.

Even the court had to verify what the word meant, according to Gerard Muyot who was later asked to demonstrate how "bakay-bakay" is done. 

In a courtroom reenactment, volunteers were asked to pose as Smith and the victim as they were seen going out of the Neptune Club while the witness supervised and directed the scene. 

It was also during the presentation of the prosecution’s first two witnesses that the word "pasuray-suray" was used to describe the unsteady steps the complainant was allegedly seen taking that same night. 

The court, upon request of the victim’s lawyers, also allowed a demonstration as all four accused, only several steps away, watched closely.

The prosecution made it a point that such words used by witnesses who testify against the US servicemen are quoted directly so as to retain the essence and the meaning of the testimony. 

During the following hearings, words like "isang dipa" and "abot kamay" were used to describe distances and lengths. Again, the witness on the stand was asked to explain to the court what the terms meant.

In one instance, the word "diumano" was used prompting defense lawyers to object by quickly saying that the word implies hearsay.

However, Branch 139 Judge Benjamin Pozon himself clarified that "diumano" means "according to" which is allowable for it simply says someone said something and that the person is quoting that someone.

The most recent Filipino terms to be uttered by a witness during trial were "mabuhangin at malagkit," referring to the texture of the condom that was recovered from the victim’s clothing.

Since the terms were often sexual, their use drew some smiles and giggles from those watching the court drama including the defense lawyers themselves who conducted a cross-examination of an evidence custodian.

Aside from learning some Filipino terms, the four accused are also being exposed to less-than-perfect English, as when the chief of the Investigation Division of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA)—Intelligence and Investigation Office (IIO) took the witness stand last Friday.

Paquito Torres, when asked why the driver of the van where the alleged rape supposedly took place was not charged along with the American soldiers, said "he (Timoteo Soriano) was very cooperated."

Torres continued to confound lawyers yesterday when he used the phrase "hardly intoxicated" when he meant the opposite, "very drunk," in describing the victim on the night of the supposed crime.

Ramon Paje, the investigator who prepared the spot report where the phrase was derived from, was instead blamed for the "misinterpretation."

Though the American defendants face imprisonment of up to 40 years, the seriousness of the trial has often been interspersed with moments of comedy, grandstanding by lawyers, and dramatic grilling of witnesses.

Lawyers from both the prosecution and the defense have earned nicknames, like Benjamin Formoso, Smith’s counsel, who used the term "hospitality girl" when he tried to establish that the Neptune Club was known for sexual commerce.

The witness, who works for the establishment as a security officer, claimed there was no such activity, and that they only hire female "GROs," or guest relations officers.

The term hospitality girl dates back to the 1970s and ’80s and drew laughs from the courtroom before Pozon warned defense lawyers not to attack the character of the victim in the rape trial.