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The Taguig City metropolitan trial court (MeTC) has ordered the arrest of actor and television host Ferdinand “Vhong” H. Navarro on acts of lasciviousness filed against him by model Deniece Millinete Cornejo.
MeTC Presiding Judge Angela Francesca M. Din of Branch 116 found probable cause on Navarro’s indictment for acts of lasciviousness under Article 336 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC).
“After personally evaluating and taking into consideration the Information filed in the above-entitled case, as well as allegations in the complaint-affidavit executed by the offended party, which are all under oath, together with the supporting documents attached thereon, the Court finds that there is probable cause to hold the accused for trial,” Judge Din’s ruling stated.
The ruling dated last Sept. 15 also stated: “As probable cause exists to hold the accused for trial, let a Warrant of Arrest be issued against accused Ferdinand “Vhong” H. Navarro.”
Bail of P36,000 was ordered by the judge for Navarro’s provisional liberty.
Aside from acts of lasciviousness, the Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office also filed a rape case against Navarro before the regional trial court (RTC).
The filing of the cases was ordered by the Court of Appeals (CA) after Cornejo’s complaints were dismissed both by the prosecutor’s office and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
In her complaints, Cornejo said she met Navarro in a Makati City mall in 2011 during an event where she was an endorser for a shoe brand. She said Navarro got her telephone number from a staff member during the event.
Thereafter, she said, Navarro had been calling her or sending text messages. They became friends, she said, and one time she allowed him to visit her in her condominium unit in 2014.
She filed three criminal charges against Navarro for alleged rape and attempted rate. Her complaints were dismissed by the Taguig City prosecutor’s office. She elevated the case to the DOJ which denied her appeal. She then filed a petition with the CA challenging the DOJ’s resolutions.
Among other things, the CA said in granting Cornejo’s appeal:
“The Court also notes Navarro’s admission that he and Cornejo had consensual oral sex on January 17, 2014. Given the peculiar nature of rape, it almost always presents a ‘he said, she said’ scenario which leaves the trial court the task to decide whom between the private complainant or the accused should it believe.
“On one hand, justice must be rendered to a rape victim bearing in mind that she is physically, psychologically, emotionally and socially scarred.
“On the other, an accusation of rape can be made with facility, and while the accusation is difficult to prove, it is even harder for the accused, though innocent, to disprove.
“It was erroneous for the DOJ to deny Cornejo’s petition for review on the ground that her statements in the complaint-affidavits are inconsistent and incredible.
“In this regard, it bears to stress that the determination of probable cause does not depend on the validity or merits of a party’s accusation or defense or on the admissibility or veracity of testimonies presented.
“Issues of credibility should be adjudged during the trial proper. It goes without saying that it is the trial court that has the unique power and position to observe the witnesses’ deportment, manner of testifying, emphasis, gesture, and inflection of the voice, all of which are potent aids in ascertaining the witness’ credibility.
“Ultimately, it falls upon the trial court to determine who between Navarro and Cornejo speaks the truth. Cornejo decries attempted rape on the night of January 22, 2014 while Navarro denies any wrongdoing on his part.
“Finally, it must be borne in mind that the admissibility or inadmissibility of the parties’ evidence should be ventilated before the trial court during the trial proper and not in the preliminary investigation. There need not be an inquiry into whether there is sufficient evidence to procure a conviction.
“What is merely required is probability of guilt, the determination of which does not call for the application of rules or standards of proof that a judgment of conviction requires after trial on the merits.
“WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. The Resolutions promulgated on April 30, 2018 and July 14, 2020 of the Department of Justice in NPS Docket No. XVI-INV-16E-00174 and XVI-INV-15J00815 are hereby REVERSED AND SET ASIDE.
“The Office of the City Prosecutor of Taguig City is thus DIRECTED to file Informations against Ferdinand “Vhong” H. Navarro for: (1) Rape by Sexual Intercourse under Article 266-A (1) of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 8353; and (2) Acts of Lasciviousness under Article 336 of the Revised Penal Code. SO ORDERED.”