Defense lawyers in Subic rape case attack guard's credibility

Lawyers of US marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, who was earlier tagged by a guard as having carried off a visibly drunk Filipina woman out of a Subic bar, tried to wreck the credibility of another guard who also reported the same. GMA’s DZBB radio reported on Monday that Gerald Muyot, a guard at the Neptune Club, was subjected to intense cross-examination by Smith’s lawyers, Benjamin Formoso and Enrico Ullejata. The complainant, 22-year-old “Nicole" (not her real name), was seen crying inside the courtroom while Muyot was being cross-examined. Smith, along with fellow US marines Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier and Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis, have been accused by “Nicole" of raping her at the Subic Freeport last November 1. The four American servicemen all stand as principal accused in the case. The defense lawyers questioned Muyot if his vision was impaired and whether the guard's account of the incident matched that of the Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS). Makati judge Benjamin Pozon reportedly had to stop Formoso from further attacking Muyot's credibility by questioning him about the NCIS report. Formoso even asked Muyot if he demanded a fee from GMA-7 reporter Susan Enriquez in exchange for an interview. At that point, senior prosecutor Hazel Valdez objected to Formoso's line questioning. On the other hand, Ullejata asked Muyot why he did not stop Smith from carrying the victim outside the bar. Muyot replied he merely had a hunch at the time and could not act without further evidence. Muyot, during the cross-examination, also said he saw the green Starex van used by the suspects, but defense lawyer Jose Justiniano questioned Muyot why he did not record the van's license plate number as was standard procedure. Last Friday, Tomas Corpuz Jr., also a guard at the Neptune bar and the prosecution’s first witness, testified that “Nicole" was visibly drunk and left the bar on the back of one of the accused. -GMANews.TV