A Taguig court has set the arraignment of TV host and comedian Vhong Navarro for the rape case filed against him by model Deniece Cornejo.
In an order dated Oct. 5, Judge Loralei Cruz Datahan of the Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 69 directed Navarro to attend his arraignment on Oct. 11 at 1:30 p.m.
“Considering that this Court has already acquired jurisdiction over the person of the accused Ferdinand ‘Vhong’ H. Navarro, per Return of Warrant of Arrest dated 20 September 2022 of Atty. Joseph Eufemio S. Martinez, of the National Bureau of Investigation-National Capital Region (NBI-NCR), the arraignment of the said accused and the pre-trial conference of the above-entitled case will be held before this court sitting at the Ground Floor, Hall of Justice General Santos Avenue, Central Bicutan, Taguig City on October 11, 2022 at 1:30 in the afternoon,” according to the order of Judge Datahan.
Navarro is facing a rape case and a separate case of lasciviousness in two Taguig courts, both related to complaints filed by Cornejo against him.
The Taguig Prosecutor’s Office filed the information for rape and acts of lasciviousness with the Taguig RTC based on the order of the Court of Appeals (CA) dated July 21 this year.
The rape information filed with the court stated 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.”
The acts of lasciviousness against Cornejo allegedly happened on Jan. 22, 2014.
On Sept. 19, the Taguig RTC Branch 69 issued a non-bailable warrant of arrest against Navarro for the rape case.
The TV host surrendered to the NBI on Sept. 19 for the first warrant of arrest with a bail of P36,000 issued by the Taguig Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 116. The non-bailable warrant of arrest was issued in the afternoon of Sept. 19
He has since been detained at the NBI Detention Center.
Cornejo, through her lawyer, Howard Calleja, filed an urgent motion with the Taguig RTC Branch 69 on Sept. 28 to transfer Navarro from NBI detention facility to the Taguig City Jail.
In a ruling dated Sept. 29, the Taguig RTC Branch 69 denied Navarro’s request to continue to be detained at the NBI Detention Center in Manila that paved the way for his transfer to the Taguig City Jail. As of this writing, Navarro is still detained at the NBI.
“After a thorough consideration of the arguments of both the prosecution and the defense, the Court finds that accused was not able to justify the need for his continued detention at the NBI facility,” the court ruled.
Navarro has repeatedly denied that he raped Cornejo.