Detained TV host and comedian Ferdinand “Vhong” Navarro will not appear in person during the whole trial of the rape case filed by model Deniece Cornejo.
Instead, Navarro will be attending the trial through videoconferencing, an arrangement approved by the Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 69, his lawyers said.
Navarro is currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation Detention Center in Manila after the Taguig court issued a non-bailable warrant of arrest against him on Sept. 19.
The Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office charged Navarro of raping Cornejo in her condominium in Taguig on Jan. 17, 2014.
The TV host, who is also a member of the dance group Streetboys, was arraigned by the court on Oct. 11 through videoconferencing. During the arraignment, he refused to enter a plea, which resulted in the court entering a not guilty plea on his behalf. Navarro did not enter a plea due to a pending motion with the Supreme Court regarding the case.
"When the accused refuses to plead or makes a conditional plea, a plea of not guilty shall be entered for him," according to Rule 116 of The Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.
He also attended the two bail hearings on Oct. 13 and 17 remotely.
“The court made clear, moving forward, her policy is persons deprived of liberty , which is Mr. Vhong Navarro, will appear via videoconferencing. That all other persons including counsels and witnesses will be appearing face to face before the honorable court. That is my understanding,” Navarro’s lawyer, Alma Mallonga, earlier said.
Mariglen Abraham Garduque, the collaborating lawyer in Navarro’s camp, also said the TV host will not appear in person in court during the whole rape trial.
“Yes by videoconferencing. Kasi pag PDL tayo, persons deprived of liberty, under videoconferencing because the situation is still under the pandemic,” she previously said.
She added, “He will never appear in person.”
Before his arraignment, Navarro filed with the Taguig court a motion to conduct hearings through videoconferencing on Oct. 7.
In a decision dated Oct. 10, the Taguig RTC Branch 69 ruled in favor of Navarro and granted his request.
In his motion, Navarro cited several reasons for requesting not to appear in person in court.
He cited the “considerable distance between the court and the NBI detention facility." He said his appearance through videoconferencing will allow the government to save resources for his transfer from the NBI to the Taguig Hall of Justice and will be a deterrent against the spread of Covid-19.
Navarro also told the court that he was a high-risk “PDL alleged to be a high-value target.” As such, he said, there is a threat to his security, to the court and its officers and litigants.
“The motion is meritorious,” the Taguig RTC Branch 69 ruled.
“Considering that the country is still under the pandemic brought about by the Covid-19 virus, and accused is still committed in a detention facility, his attendance via videoconferencing in the scheduled hearing on 11 October 2022 may be allowed, pursuant to Section I. 3(b)(v) of A.M. No. 20-12-01-SC.”
“Meanwhile, the attendance of counsels and other litigants in this case shall be in-court,” the Taguig court added.
In December 2020, the Supreme Court issued guidelines on the conduct of videoconferencing for hearings due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cornejo did not appear in person in court in the last three hearings but his lawyer, Howard Calleja, said she will appear “at the proper time. We will have her here.”
During Navarro’s bail hearings, Cornejo’s camp presented Cedric Lee and Master Sgt. Rolly Laureto as their first two witnesses. Navarro is seeking bail from the court.
Navarro is also facing a case of acts of lasciviousness filed by Cornejo, which allegedly happened on Jan. 22, 2014. It will be heard by the Taguig Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 116.