The Taguig City regional trial court (RTC) on Monday afternoon, Sept. 19, ordered the arrest of actor and television host Ferdinand “Vhong” H. Navarro on a non-bailable charge of rape filed by model Deniece Millinete Cornejo.
The arrest order, addressed to any officer of the law, was issued by RTC Judge Loralie Cruz Datahan of Branch 69.
“You are hereby commanded to arrest Ferdinand H. Navarro, alias “Vhong," who has been charged before me with the offense of rape (under Article 266-A(1) of the Revised Penal Code as amended by Republic Act No. 8353 and bring him before me to be dealt with according to law,” stated the order issued by Judge Datahan.
The arresting officer was ordered “to use at least one body-worn camera and one alternative recording device or a minimum of two devices, or such number as may be necessary to capture and record the relevant incidents in the execution of this warrant...,” the judge’s order also stated.
Last Sept. 15, Taguig City Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC) 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) and ordered his arrest.
“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 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 Judge Din for Navarro’s provisional liberty.
Navarro surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Quezon City on Monday, Sept. 19, after the Taguig City MeTC ordered his arrest on acts of lasciviousness.
He expressed optimism that he would be cleared of the charges.
The filing of the two criminal cases against Navarro 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 visited 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.”