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By William B. Depasupil, Reporter
It seems the Court of Appeals division handling
the petition for review filed by convicted rapist Daniel Smith is
not headed for a decision any time soon.
A Makati Regional Trial Court convicted Smith, a
corporal with the US Marines, in 2006 for raping a 22-year-old
Filipino known only by her alias “Nicole.” Smith, who is
detained at the US Embassy in Manila, immediately filed an appeal.
A reason for the long wait on the appeal is
related to the mandatory retirement on June 27 of Associate Justice
Agustin Dizon, the reviewing justice of the Court of Appeals 16th
Division, which is handling the rape case.
With his retirement, sources at the court said a
new justice will have to be assigned to review the case. That means
the hearings may have to start from the beginning to avoid possible
accusations of partiality by the new justice assigned.
“The new reviewing justice can’t just take
over the notes and draft report of the case. He or she will have to
start from scratch,” the source explained.
The Nicole rape case has become so controversial
that appellate justices seem to be avoiding it. One after another,
justices assigned to the 16th division have inhibited themselves
from the case.
Recently, Associate Justice Vicente Veloso quit
as head of that division because his daughter is a member of the law
firm defending Smith. The appellate court has designated Associate
Justice Noel Tijam to replace him.
Also, Associate Justice Celia Librea-Leagogo
inhibited herself from the same case, citing her friendship with one
of the lawyers of Smith. Leagogo was replaced by Associate Justice
Apolinario Bruselas Jr., who is also expected to inhibit himself
because he wrote a Court of Appeals decision on the custody of
Smith.
The third member of the special division is
Associate Justice Regalado Maambong, who is reportedly abroad.
Sources earlier said Dizon had already drafted a
55-page decision. But it still needs the signature of the two other
justices before it can be made public.
There were talks, though, that the decision
would likely turn in favor of Smith because of President Gloria
Arroyo’s upcoming US trip, where she is scheduled to meet with
President George W. Bush.
Members of Task Force Subic Rape, an
organization keeping watch over the controversial rape case, had
appealed to the justices’ sense of fairness and independence.
“We got information that a justice is
preparing the decision to reverse Judge Benjamin Pozon’s
verdict,” said Yuen Abana of the Partido ng Manggawa, a part of
the task force.
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