Women’s group wants SBMA official probed
By Michael Punongbayan, Bebot Sison Jr.
Phil Star
A women’s party-list group called yesterday for the investigation of a Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) official who allegedly tried to bribe a 22-year-old Filipina into dropping the rape case she filed against four US Marines last November.
"This investigation should lead to more exposés on who else was involved in the settlement attempts as well as if this has something to do with Starex van driver Timoteo Soriano’s disappearance," the militant group Gabriela said in a statement.
Ben Natividad, the SBMA official in question, yesterday denied the allegations of "Nicole’s" stepsister that he had attempted to bribe them.
"I never offered them anything," he told The STAR.
"I was at the IIO Office in close coordination with the SBMA chairman and acting as a liaison. My presence there was to make sure that she got the proper medical, legal and other forms of assistance that the SBMA can provide her with," he said.
Natividad, who is SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga’s executive assistant, said it was unfair of Nicole’s stepsister to have accused him of bribery.
"My participation was limited to making sure the victim got all the help she needed which at that time consisted of medical attention and legal support," he said.
Natividad said whoever told Nicole to settle the rape case with the Americans might have related her case to similar cases that happened at Subic in the past when it was a US naval base.
"Whoever said that maybe was just trying to relate her predicament to other instances wherein the victim would make an out-of-court settlement (offer) with the American serviceman in question," he said.
Natividad said somebody else must have made the statement, which Nicole’s stepsister had alluded to him during her testimony at the Makati City regional trial court.
"Common sense dictates that it would just be plain insensitive to say something like that to a person who has just gone through an ordeal like hers," he said.
On the other hand, the SBMA, without mentioning Natividad’s name, said in an official statement that its management and personnel "do not subscribe to the practice of engaging in matters illegal and immoral in nature."
Armina Belleza Llamas, SBMA public relations officer, said in a statement the agency had extended its assistance to Nicole when she first came out in November last year.
"At the time that Nicole filed her complaint with our Intelligence and Investigation Office (IIO), we extended our help to her through any means possible," she said.
Llamas said several SBMA employees were present to make sure that Nicole got the proper medical, legal and other forms of assistance.
"We sent a team at that time to help out the IIO and make sure that the process of investigation went smoothly, and that Nicole could be assisted by any means possible," she said.
"The SBMA was very concerned with her safety and security… They had even provided Nicole and her party with a housing unit where she could stay which was completely safe and secure for her welfare."
Natividad’s name came up in the testimony of Nicole’s stepsister, who told the court they were offered an "areglo" a day after the alleged rape on the night of Nov. 1, 2005.
Private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua and Benjamin Formoso, Lance Corporal Daniel Smith’s counsel, chose not to comment on the issue. Smith is one of the four US Marines accused of raping Nicole.
The other accused are Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier.
However, Gabriela said an investigation should be made if any government official is found to have been involved in an attempt to bribe Nicole.
"This investigation should also lead to confirmation of a news report in a daily newspaper on Nov. 7 that the government had tapped someone from Zamboanga known to the victim’s relatives to persuade the rape victim to ‘settle the case’ with the suspects as well as directing others to put the pressure on possible witnesses to recant, or remain silent," Gabriela deputy secretary general Lana Linaban said.
Meanwhile, top forensics practitioner Dr. Raquel Fortun will take the stand as an expert witness for the prosecution in today’s continuation of the Subic rape trial at the Makati Regional Trial Court.
Fortun of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine is being tagged by the prosecution as a "superwitness" who will help Nicole’s lawyers prove that she was indeed sexually abused.
Fortun will also answer questions on matters concerning handling evidence, interpretations of medico-legal reports, and other medical findings.
"She will be an expert witness who will be giving her expert opinion," Ursua of the Women’s Legal Bureau told The STAR.
Fortun, the first Filipino woman forensic pathologist recognized by the American Foundation in Washington DC, is a professor at the UP College of Medicine.
She was named Pathologist of the Year in 1996 by the Philippine Society of Pathologists for her outstanding contributions to medical detective work.
Fortun became famous for her involvement in the medical investigations of the Ozone Disco fire tragedy in 1996, where she was tasked to help identify relatives of those who died in the blaze.
She was also asked to help identify children who died in the fire that gutted the Asosacion de Damas de Filipinas settlement house in Manila in 1999.
Fortun was also involved in the Senate investigation into the death of Cebu City Judge Martin Ocampo before she became a forensic pathologist for the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor in 2000.
She also became known to the public during the Payatas avalanche in Quezon City in July 2001 where her forensic expertise was again used to identify the dead.
Fortun also had a hand in the investigation of the killing of public relations man Salvador "Bubby" Dacer.
In the Subic rape case, Fortun is expected to clear up matters that concern medical procedure, medical reports, and how the same are interpreted.
Fortun will take the witness stand after Olongapo City medico-legal officer Dr. Rolando Ortiz testifies on Nicole’s medico-legal findings.
Last Tuesday, a bartender of the Neptune Club at Subic Bay Freeport took the witness stand.
It was at the Neptune Club where Nicole, her stepsister, two US Navy men, and all four of the accused allegedly met and got drunk before the alleged rape.
Roger Sanidad, 25, the bartender on duty that night who testified in the trial, gave everyone a crash course on how alcoholic drinks are mixed at the Neptune Club.
He said he used to work for the Hard Rock Cafe in Subic and for the Tabola Italian Restaurant.
Under direct examination, Sanidad awed the audience with his expertise in mixing drinks such as the Vodka Sprite, Singaporean Sling, B52, Long Island Iced Tea and Bull Frog, which Nicole allegedly drank hours before she was carried out by piggyback and loaded into a van where the rape allegedly took place.
Phil Star
A women’s party-list group called yesterday for the investigation of a Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) official who allegedly tried to bribe a 22-year-old Filipina into dropping the rape case she filed against four US Marines last November.
"This investigation should lead to more exposés on who else was involved in the settlement attempts as well as if this has something to do with Starex van driver Timoteo Soriano’s disappearance," the militant group Gabriela said in a statement.
Ben Natividad, the SBMA official in question, yesterday denied the allegations of "Nicole’s" stepsister that he had attempted to bribe them.
"I never offered them anything," he told The STAR.
"I was at the IIO Office in close coordination with the SBMA chairman and acting as a liaison. My presence there was to make sure that she got the proper medical, legal and other forms of assistance that the SBMA can provide her with," he said.
Natividad, who is SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga’s executive assistant, said it was unfair of Nicole’s stepsister to have accused him of bribery.
"My participation was limited to making sure the victim got all the help she needed which at that time consisted of medical attention and legal support," he said.
Natividad said whoever told Nicole to settle the rape case with the Americans might have related her case to similar cases that happened at Subic in the past when it was a US naval base.
"Whoever said that maybe was just trying to relate her predicament to other instances wherein the victim would make an out-of-court settlement (offer) with the American serviceman in question," he said.
Natividad said somebody else must have made the statement, which Nicole’s stepsister had alluded to him during her testimony at the Makati City regional trial court.
"Common sense dictates that it would just be plain insensitive to say something like that to a person who has just gone through an ordeal like hers," he said.
On the other hand, the SBMA, without mentioning Natividad’s name, said in an official statement that its management and personnel "do not subscribe to the practice of engaging in matters illegal and immoral in nature."
Armina Belleza Llamas, SBMA public relations officer, said in a statement the agency had extended its assistance to Nicole when she first came out in November last year.
"At the time that Nicole filed her complaint with our Intelligence and Investigation Office (IIO), we extended our help to her through any means possible," she said.
Llamas said several SBMA employees were present to make sure that Nicole got the proper medical, legal and other forms of assistance.
"We sent a team at that time to help out the IIO and make sure that the process of investigation went smoothly, and that Nicole could be assisted by any means possible," she said.
"The SBMA was very concerned with her safety and security… They had even provided Nicole and her party with a housing unit where she could stay which was completely safe and secure for her welfare."
Natividad’s name came up in the testimony of Nicole’s stepsister, who told the court they were offered an "areglo" a day after the alleged rape on the night of Nov. 1, 2005.
Private prosecutor Evalyn Ursua and Benjamin Formoso, Lance Corporal Daniel Smith’s counsel, chose not to comment on the issue. Smith is one of the four US Marines accused of raping Nicole.
The other accused are Lance Corporals Dominic Duplantis and Keith Silkwood and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier.
However, Gabriela said an investigation should be made if any government official is found to have been involved in an attempt to bribe Nicole.
"This investigation should also lead to confirmation of a news report in a daily newspaper on Nov. 7 that the government had tapped someone from Zamboanga known to the victim’s relatives to persuade the rape victim to ‘settle the case’ with the suspects as well as directing others to put the pressure on possible witnesses to recant, or remain silent," Gabriela deputy secretary general Lana Linaban said.
Meanwhile, top forensics practitioner Dr. Raquel Fortun will take the stand as an expert witness for the prosecution in today’s continuation of the Subic rape trial at the Makati Regional Trial Court.
Fortun of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine is being tagged by the prosecution as a "superwitness" who will help Nicole’s lawyers prove that she was indeed sexually abused.
Fortun will also answer questions on matters concerning handling evidence, interpretations of medico-legal reports, and other medical findings.
"She will be an expert witness who will be giving her expert opinion," Ursua of the Women’s Legal Bureau told The STAR.
Fortun, the first Filipino woman forensic pathologist recognized by the American Foundation in Washington DC, is a professor at the UP College of Medicine.
She was named Pathologist of the Year in 1996 by the Philippine Society of Pathologists for her outstanding contributions to medical detective work.
Fortun became famous for her involvement in the medical investigations of the Ozone Disco fire tragedy in 1996, where she was tasked to help identify relatives of those who died in the blaze.
She was also asked to help identify children who died in the fire that gutted the Asosacion de Damas de Filipinas settlement house in Manila in 1999.
Fortun was also involved in the Senate investigation into the death of Cebu City Judge Martin Ocampo before she became a forensic pathologist for the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor in 2000.
She also became known to the public during the Payatas avalanche in Quezon City in July 2001 where her forensic expertise was again used to identify the dead.
Fortun also had a hand in the investigation of the killing of public relations man Salvador "Bubby" Dacer.
In the Subic rape case, Fortun is expected to clear up matters that concern medical procedure, medical reports, and how the same are interpreted.
Fortun will take the witness stand after Olongapo City medico-legal officer Dr. Rolando Ortiz testifies on Nicole’s medico-legal findings.
Last Tuesday, a bartender of the Neptune Club at Subic Bay Freeport took the witness stand.
It was at the Neptune Club where Nicole, her stepsister, two US Navy men, and all four of the accused allegedly met and got drunk before the alleged rape.
Roger Sanidad, 25, the bartender on duty that night who testified in the trial, gave everyone a crash course on how alcoholic drinks are mixed at the Neptune Club.
He said he used to work for the Hard Rock Cafe in Subic and for the Tabola Italian Restaurant.
Under direct examination, Sanidad awed the audience with his expertise in mixing drinks such as the Vodka Sprite, Singaporean Sling, B52, Long Island Iced Tea and Bull Frog, which Nicole allegedly drank hours before she was carried out by piggyback and loaded into a van where the rape allegedly took place.
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