Smith to take witness stand on 9/11

The American soldier principally accused in the rape of a Filipina in Subic last year will take the stand as the first witness for the defense on the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the US.

Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, the 21-year-old US Marine accused of rape along with three other American soldiers, will testify and stick to his story that he had consensual sex with "Nicole," according to defense counsel Benjamin Formoso.

"He will testify on consensual sex. We’ll just tell the truth. We’ll not distort the facts," Formoso said.

He said Smith is even eager to take the witness stand and take the opportunity to tell what really occurred on the night of Nov. 1, 2005.

"He’s (Smith) not deviating from his original position," Formoso said.

Formoso referred to Smith’s earlier admission before US Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) agents who investigated the young Marine after the rape incident at the Subic freeport zone in Zambales.

On Thursday, Makati City regional trial court (RTC) Branch 139 Judge Benjamin Pozon scheduled the start of the defense’s turn to present evidence and witnesses on Sept. 11 after the prosecution rested its case.

Pozon gave Nicole’s lawyers, composed of five government and one private counsel, a week to make its formal offer of evidence and another week for the defense to comment as to which should be admitted by the court.

Formoso said Smith’s testimony is expected to last for two to three days, depending on how long he will be cross-examined by the prosecution.

After Smith, his co-accused Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Bryan Carpentier will testify.

The defense’s list of witnesses submitted during the pre-trial conference include all four accused and expert witnesses that include an obstetrician-gynecologist.

The defense also listed Timoteo Soriano Jr., the driver of the Hyundai Starex van where the alleged rape took place, as a possible witness.

The defense is expected to finish its turn faster than the prosecution, which presented 23 witnesses that took more than two months of trial at four days a week and four hours a day.

The prosecution rested its case after presenting a report from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Laboratory matching Smith’s DNA profile generated from his blood sample.

The report said Smith’s DNA was found in the victim’s underwear when she was supposedly dumped after the alleged rape took place. — Michael Punongbayan