By Rey E. Requejo

THE retraction by a Filipina who cried rape three years ago does not immediately exonerate US Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, who was convicted of the crime in December 2006, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said yesterday.

?I don?t think her retraction will result in a reversal of the [lower court] conviction of Smith,? Gonzalez said, referring to Suzette Nicolas, 25, who has been identified only as ?Nicole? in press reports.

Nicolas flew to Los Angeles on Monday on board a Japan Airlines jet after signing a sworn statement telling the Court of Appeals that she doubted that she was raped in November 2005.

She also received P100,000 from Smith?s lawyers in compensatory damages as a settlement of the civil case against the US serviceman.

?It is not considered newly discovered evidence. I do not think it will have a big impact on the case. Certainly, it will have an effect, but I don?t think it would be strong,? Gonzalez said, referring to Smith?s pending appeal to overturn his conviction.

Gonzalez said retractions were seldom accepted as evidence, particularly at this stage of the case, because such evidence should be introduced during the trial stage and not later.

The only exception, he said, was if Smith?s lawyers could convince the court that the evidence was strong enough to overturn the case.

He said the claim of the Nicole camp that the victim was tired and frustrated at the prospect of getting justice was ?flimsy.?

?Her accusations divided the nation, then she turns her back on everything. I am not happy with that,? he said.

Gonzalez also dismissed speculation that Nicolas? retraction was the result of a telephone conversation between President Arroyo and US President Barack Obama last weekend.

?How can there be settlement when the case is already in court? That is an insult to the CA to assume that Gloria and Obama reached an agreement and ignored the court. That is an insult to the court,? he said.

Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus said the Court of Appeals could either accept the retraction and consider it in its decision or refuse to take it into account and decide on the merits of the case based on the submissions of the trial court.

Corpus, who is in charge of monitoring Smith?s case, said the US serviceman insisted he was innocent when he last visited him Feb. 5.

?He said there was a misappreciation of facts by the trial court,? Corpus said.

If the court called for a hearing, Nicolas could give further statements to the Philippine Embassy in the United States, he added.

Corpus also said the court case over who should have custody of Smith, who remains detained at the US Embassy pending his appeal, would not be rendered moot even if the rape charge against the American serviceman was dropped.

Senators yesterday said Nicolas? retraction would not weaken the case for reviewing the terms of the country?s Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States.

The US Embassy retained custody of Smith, who was convicted of rape and sentenced to 40 years, on the strength of a provision in that agreement, triggering outrage among nationalist and leftist groups, who demanded that Smith be sent to a local prison.

Senator Francis Escudero also said Nicolas? surprise retraction did not necessarily justify dismissing the rape case.

?The case is not in her hands anymore,?Escudero said. ?It is the People of the Philippines vs. Smith, not Nicole vs. Smith, because the crime is an affront against the entire Filipino people.?

He cautioned the US government not to use the retraction to spirit Smith out of the country.

?Her affidavit is not a boarding pass to freedom. Legal procedures will have to be followed,? he said.

Regardless of Smith?s fate, the rape case had demonstrated that the Visiting Forces Agreement treated Filipinos unequally, Senator Loren Legarda said.

?If an American soldier commits a crime in the Philippines while engaged in military exercises under the VFA, he does not go to jail even after conviction, and he can be hosted by the US Embassy pending final court judgment,? she said.

Senator Rodolfo Biazon said the US refusal to honor the Supreme Court decision to transfer Smith to a local prison was a challenge to Philippine sovereignty.

?The difference must be resolved or the movement to abrogate the VFA will continue to gain ground,? he said.

?The more important issue of the VFA controversy must be resolved to protect our sovereignty and sort out what kind of RP-US relations must be maintained.?

In the House, Marikina Rep. Marcelino Teodoro slammed Nicolas.

?Her recantation of rape against Smith is very degrading to herself and to the whole nation. Nicole should understand the gravity of the legal repercussions of her retraction,? Teodoro said.

But opposition Rep. Joel Villanueva said the public should understand the pressure brought to bear on Nicolas, and added that her case strengthened calls to dump the Visiting Forces Agreement.

Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Ta?ada III said he felt sorry for Nicolas.

?I appreciated Nicole?s courage throughout the ordeal, and I fully understand if she wants to start over and leave this issue behind,? he said, adding that her loss of faith in the justice system was yet another reason to abrogate the treaty.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the administration remained firm that the agreement must be reviewede to correct its ?flaws.? With Michael Caber, Fel V. Maragay, Roy Pelovello, Joyce Pangco Pa?ares, Vito Barcelo