Although it has been overshadowed by the devastating typhoon that has killed over 1000 people throughout the Philippines, under normal circumstances the conviction of US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith’s conviction by the Makati criminal court (Makati is a city in the greater Manila metropolitan region) for the rape of a young Filipina woman would be the biggest story in the country. The woman, known as “Nicole”(23) due to a media tradition of not reporting the names of rape victims, is only one of what many consider to be many Filipinas/Filipinos who have been abused by US soldiers over the century that the US has had a military presence in the country, but is the first to ever see her attacker convicted in a Philippine court. While it is specifically a victory for “Nicole,” in the Philippines this verdict is also generally being considered a milestone in the assertion of sovereignty and the rule of law in a country which lacked the first throughout its almost 400 years as a colony, and the second during the more recent Marcos dictatorship, which ended in only 1986.
Daniel Smith (21) was charged with the actual rape, along with three other marines and their Filipino driver who were all charged with assisting and egging on Smith, but not actually participating directly. Nicole, who was 22 at the time, was apparently attending a party on the base due to her being engaged to another soldier (the relationship has since dissolved), and after imbibing so much alcohol that she lost consciousness, was carried to a truck in which Smith raped her, while the other marines cheered him on, and the Filipino man simply drove around. Faced with physical evidence, namely semen stains on the woman’s underwear and a used condom, Smith could not deny that the sex had occurred, but naturally he claimed that it had been consensual, “Nicole” claimed otherwise, and the other men all denied culpability. In the end, only Smith was convicted-probably due to medical expert testimony that she had suffered injuries consistent with sexual assault, and while the others may not exactly have been hailed as innocent and offered an apology, they were acquitted on grounds of reasonable doubt. In accordance with the terms of the Visiting Forces Agreement, although Smith is being tried in a Philippino court, but was held in the custody of the United States embassy pending conviction, after which he has now been ordered by the judge to begin serving his sentence of life (actually 40 years under local law)in a Philippine prison. It is, however, currently unclear whether he will be transferred immediately, as his attorney is filing an appeal, and a related motion requesting that he remain in US custody pending the final appeal. Current agreements between the USA and The Philippines grant no special protection to US soldiers acting outside their official duties, but memories of previous unequal arrangements linger, and public has not trusted either the US or Philippine governments to live up to the conditions of the Visiting Forces Agreement.
A timeline of events related to the crime and trial can be found here.
While rape cases are by nature always sensational and cases involving military personnel are all the more so, this particular case is particularly significant in the context of the history of The Philippines.
Part 2: A brief history of Philippine-US relations: Early colonial period, to be followed by the third and final section.
A 22 year old woman who is engaged to another is partying in a bar with four Marines (located in a district known for prositution) and is engaging in public lewd behavior and drunkeness… should not be surprised that her actions were interpreted as giving consent to sex. I am not saying she deserved it. What I am saying as that she had the opportunity to decline prior to becoming inebriated, and that by her irrepsonsible actions put herself in the situation. Hundreds (perhaps thousands) of Filipinas are raped and/or betrayed at the hands of Filipinos (in a much more brutal fashion than this) . Nicole was using the sensationalism of this case by turning it into an issue of Philippine sovreignity, and inviting all the leftists to climb aboard. The truth is, she bears much of the responsibilty for what happened to her.
A woman who is partying and getting drunk in a bar has no real excuse to complain of rape.. If she had not shown any sexual indication, she would not have been in the situation. If she were to flirt with Filipino guys the outcome would have been the same. She is more at fault here for insinuating and most probably promising sexual gratification in her actions. She has to take responsibility for her own actions and not blame anyone else for her own blatant display of.. her sexuality.. This is an example for “in every action there is an equal & opposite reaction” If not for her actions, the four Marines whould not have reacted to her. Those who support are just doing so to further their own means in rallying against the Americans in the Philippines.. All I can say is.. They are all hypocrites. If they didn’t like the Americans so much, then stop catering to them & they’re products. Let’s see you all live happily ever after. As for “Nicole” she is basking in her new found popularity. She just wants attention and she got it by exploiting the needs & urges of the Marines who are away from their loved ones. If the situation were reverse, would the Filipinos feel the same for the woman who lured their Filipino soldiers & cried rape?
It’s not a question if the girl was in the bar and dancing lewdly the fact remains that she was raped regardless of the consequence.