Model Deniece Cornejo, who accused TV host Ferdinand “Vhong” Navarro of raping her, said the case is a fight on behalf of women who have been abused.
Navarro is now detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after a Taguig court issued a warrant of arrest without bail against him on Sept. 19 in a case that charged him of allegedly raping Cornejo on Jan. 17, 2014.
The Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office filed cases of rape and acts of lasciviousness against Navarro based on complaints by Cornejo after the Court of Appeals ruled in July that granted the model’s petition for a review of her cases.
The CA ordered the Taguig Prosecutor’s Office “to file the 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.”
In a short message sent to Manila Bulletin, Cornejo said if she will be the instrument to serve as an example for women who have been abused, hurt and raped, she will fight for it.
In the rape case, the Taguig Prosecutor’s Office filed the information with the Taguig Regional Trial Court stating that on Jan. 17, 2014, Navarro “through force, threat and intimidation, and by purposely intoxicating the victim, did willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with one Deniece Millinete Cornejo.”
On Sept. 19, the Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 69 issued a warrant of arrest with no bail recommended against Navarro for the alleged rape of Cornejo.
Before this, a warrant of arrest for acts of lasciviousness was issued by the Taguig Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 116 against Navarro. The court set his bail at P36,000.
Navarro went to the NBI on Sept. 19 to surrender and post bail for acts of lasciviousness. However, the second warrant of arrest for rape came out in the afternoon of the same day.