AS RAPE convict Lance Corporal Daniel Smith cools his heels at the Makati City Jail (MCJ), a group is quietly praying that he will soon prove his innocence.

       

Led by a Filipino woman married to a US Navy man, the group simply called "Supporters of Daniel Smith" is preparing to hold a vigil for the jailed US Marine.

       

"It's a group of military wives, expats (expatriates) and other Filipinos -- bank employees, lawyers, men, women, daughters, grandmothers -- who support Smith. This is the voice of Filipino women, not of that rape victim and her supporters," said Grace Santos, 34.

       

She said she formed the group after Smith was convicted on December 4.

       

Santos said the group of around 30 members would hold candle-light activities in front of the MCJ to inspire hope in the 21-year-old Smith, who has been sentenced to up to 40 years in prison for raping a Filipino woman inside a moving van on November 1, 2005.
"I am doing this not because I am married to a US serviceman. I am doing this because I am a Filipina and I know what justice is," said Santos, a native of Bulacan.

       

Santos has visited Smith four times since he was taken to the MCJ, and brought him food and books.

       

Asked why she had launched a movement for Smith, she said: "First, he is a Marine and a gentleman. Second, I have faith in the person not because he is handsome or saintly, but because I know he will not put himself in that situation if he knew that he did something wrong."

       

The group aims to begin a fund drive to help bring Smith's family from St. Louis, Missouri, to the Philippines.