I hate to say ?I told you so? because it makes me sound haughty, but I?m going to say it again: ?Nicole? was never raped and our skewed justice system sent an innocent American to jail.

To those who have maligned me, to those who have called me names like ?traitor, ?sipsip sa mga Kano (bootlicker of the Americans),? ?bayaran? (paid hack), and ?sexist,? I have forgiven you because I understand your nationalist sentiments.

But to that guy who told me on the Internet, ?I hope it happens to your daughter,? s#@$# you!

Why involve my family in an intelligent and objective discussion of a controversial issue?

* * *

I woke up Wednesday morning in very high spirits because I had been vindicated.

You think I like siding with a foreigner over a compatriot?

You think it didn?t hurt when my own sister, Wanda, called from Davao City to tell me many people in the city hated me for my stand on the Subic rape case?

But a journalist worth his salt has to uphold the truth as he perceives it no matter how unpopular his stand is.

* * *

Now, why was I so steadfast in my stand that Nicole was never raped, and that she and Smith had consensual sex?

In Zamboanga City, where Nicole comes from, there was no rally in support of her because they know her very well.

Why was there no rally in support of her in her own city?

Nicole?s friend from Zamboanga said aptly in Chavacano, the dialect spoken in the city: ?Ta man biga na hombre guapo (She loves to flirt with good-looking men).?

Let?s not kid ourselves: By Filipino standards, Daniel Smith, the man she accused of raping her, is guapo or good-looking.

How could Nicole have been raped when at that time she was wearing tight-fitting jeans?

A Court of Appeals justice, now deceased, told me that for a woman to avoid getting raped all she has to do when she goes out at night is wear tight-fitting jeans.

And why would Nicole?s rapist have time to put on a condom when rape is a crime that?s supposed to be hurriedly done?