By 
A Panamanian embassy official accused of raping a Filipina finally
broke his silence, as he claimed that what happened that night was
consensual sex and not rape.
Erick Bairnals Shcks, a member of
the technical and administrative staff of the Panama Maritime Authority,
told Yahoo! Southeast Asia in a phone interview Friday that he did not
force the alleged victim, tagged as “Pamela”, to have sex with him.
“She never acted like she doesn’t want it,” said Shcks, who already flew to Panama last week.
Under Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Shcks, as an official of the embassy , enjoys diplomatic immunity. He was detained for a week but was released following a certification issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs regarding his immunity.
Shcks, a lawyer by profession, claimed he was willing to undergo trial but was declared persona non grata, thus was forced to leave the Philippines.
His version of the story
Shcks
said he met “Pamela” at a language school in Manila. He said they went
on a date and told “Pamela” to just call him if she wanted to see him
again. He claimed that two days after they met, it was “Pamela” who
initiated another meeting.
“She seems like a nice girl. I don’t
have a cellphone then so I gave her my landline, and told her ‘if you
want to, call me, if you want to see me again’,” he said.
On
April 23, Shcks said Pamela called him and suggested a dinner date, to
which he agreed. He said that after the dinner, they went to a bar where
“Pamela” supposedly ordered Martini.
“There, we talked. She
started hugging, kissing me. Then we said it’s a boring place. I told
her, let’s go to my place, there is something to drink, I want you to
know where I live (sic),” Shcks relates. “I was very interested in the
girl. I really liked her at that moment and she agreed to go with me.”
Shcks
said “Pamela” made a few calls while on their way to his unit. They
later arrived at his place “very happy, hand to hand, not drunk, not
drugged (sic),” he said.
“She agreed to go by herself. If this is rape, if the girl is afraid and if she needs to escape, she can escape,” he said.
At his apartment, Shcks said: “Inside the room, we listened to music,
kissed each other, go to bed (sic). She acted like an experienced person,” he
said, noting that “Pamela” left his unit past 1 am, conscious and not under the influence of drugs.
Video evidence
Shcks has come up with several CCTV footage showing him and Pamela
arriving at the condominium lobby, kissing at the elevator, and Pamela
leaving the building “happy.”
Yahoo! Southeast Asia obtained copies of the video but is refraining from posting it as it will reveal Pamela’s identity.
Was it ‘date rape’?
Pamela’s counsel, DJ Jimenez said his client was a clear victim of “date rape.”
“Binola bola siya na may ipapakita lang siya sa condo niya tapos ayaw na
siya palabasin [She was deceived to go to his condominium and was
prevented from going out]. This is a case of date rape… she didn’t allow
him to have sex with her,” said Jimenez.
Jimenez said his client was drawn to Shcks because “he appeared to be
intellectually engaging.” And although she voluntarily went on a date
with him, it “is not license to have sex.”
“The bottom line is kahit asawa, ang sex hindi pwedeng pilitin [You
can't even force your own spouse or else that will be rape],” Jimenez
added.
“Makati court found probable cause to charge him. That already shows
there is basis,” he noted, adding that Shcks' move to release the video
is an “effort to discredit Pamela.”
Under Republic Act 8353, rape is punishable with reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment.
