MANILA, 23 September 2006 — State prosecutors and the complainant in the rape case against four US Marines have resolved their quarrel, which has threatened to harm the high-profile case.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said he has directed the prosecutors to allow private prosecutors a more active role in the criminal prosecution of the accused.

At the same time, the complainant — who had been appointed the name “Nicole” by a court in the financial capital of Makati to protect her identity — said she will not push for the appointment of a new prosecution panel from the Department of Justice.

The woman has been boycotting the hearings since Sept. 14, and has asked the justice department to replace the prosecution panel for alleged incompetence.

Nicole’s mother also accused prosecution panel chief Emilie de los Santos of attempting to persuade her to agree to a settlement of the case.

In a court document, the woman said she has lost all trust and confidence in the prosecution panel after de los Santos — reacting to the allegations — called her and her mother “liars” and “ingrates.”

The last of four US Marines charged with rape testified yesterday that he heard his colleague and the alleged victim laughing and making love in the back of a moving van while the supposed crime took place.

Lance Cpl. Dominic Duplantis, 21, from Thibodaux, Louisiana, testified as the trial wound down, with Judge Benjamin Pozon saying he hopes to make a ruling before December.

Nicole has testified earlier that she was drunk and too weak to stop the Nov. 1 assault by Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, of St. Louis, Missouri, while Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier, Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood and Lance Cpl. Dominic Duplantis allegedly cheered him on. If convicted, all four face a maximum of 40 years in jail.

Smith maintains the sex was consensual, and his fellow Marines have backed up his testimony. Prosecution witnesses, however, testified that Nicole was drunk and had to be carried on Smith’s back into the van, then carried out of the van “like a pig” and left on a sidewalk, with her pants down.

The case has stirred emotions in the former American colony and resurrected controversies linked to the US military’s presence in the Philippines, which has been credited with helping Filipino troops crush militants in the country’s restive south.

Duplantis affirmed in court his statement to US Navy Criminal Investigation Service agents that when he glanced at the back of the van, where Smith and Nicole were seated, he “observed Smith on top of the girl...”

But he said he did not notice anything “I would consider unusual.”

Prosecutor de los Santos asked him how he could give a vivid statement about the incident when he was so drunk at that time, to which Duplantis said: “I don’t think my statement is vivid but that’s what I remember.”

He also said he could hear Smith and the woman talking but did not understand the substance of their conversation.

Before the start of yesterday’s hearing, Nicole blew the candle on a birthday cake outside the court building. On it was the message: “Justice for Nicole, Justice for our nation.”

She was flanked by about a dozen women supporters. She said her birthday wish was “justice and inner strength.” Militant groups staged an hour-long rally at the Welcome Rotonda in Manila late yesterday afternoon to express their support for Nicole. (With reports from agencies)