PRESS STATEMENT
23 April 2009
Before fingers are pointed at Nicole again for doing a disservice to her own defense by virtue of her retraction and the choice for a normal life, we stand firm on our view that Daniel Smith’s acquittal merely consummates the betrayal of justice perpetrated by both the US and the Philippine governments.
It was a wanton betrayal of Philippine sovereignty when the Arroyo government gave up its jurisdiction over the convicted US criminal. Smith must have been very thankful to our Senate for ratifying the Visiting Forces Agreement which served as the latter’s strongest defense.
In particular, it was a wilful betrayal of a woman’s right when Nicole, the rape victim, found herself helpless from her own government. Nicole did fight, but found herself at the losing end upon seeing her violator live his sentence under the loving care of his own government. Nicole’s lawyer did fight, the women’s movement also did fight, but the Philippine government is neither on their and Nicole’s side.
So what do we expect from this kind of situation? Truly, this decision is not only a shameful rendition of how the rule of law is upheld in this country but also on how our foreign policy reverted back to colonial relations.
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