(Manila, Philippines) -- ABSCBN News reports the Court of Appeals
has acquitted US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith in the controversial
Subic Bay Rape Case and has been ordered released immediately. It will be recalled that his accuser, Ms. Suzette Nicolas y Sombillon recently issued
an affidavit recanting testimony that most likely led to his conviction by the Makati Regional Trial Court in December 2006, saying she was no longer sure that the rape had indeed occurred. Ms. Nicolas has reportedly married and is presently residing in the United States. The prosecution of the case and the conduct of the trial was marred by the highly politicized atmosphere surrounding it, with leftist lynch mobs and knee jerk nationalists confounding a possible crime of passion and self-control involving two persons with calls for the abrogation of long standing treaties and agreements between the two countries, such as the Visiting Forces Agreement and the US-RP Mutual Defense Treaty.
Much has been revealed about the psyche and ethics of various social and political forces and actors in Philippine society as a result of the case. Much deserves reflection. I am proud and happy to provide a set of links to much of what I have written and said in public about this case.
Related Articles on the Subic Bay Rape Case:
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