“No retreat, no surrender.”
This was the declaration of the granduncle of model Deniece Cornejo in rejecting any proposal for her and detained TV host Ferdinand “Vhong” Navarro to settle all the cases they filed against each other, including the rape charges.
Appearing at the Taguig Hall of Justice on Nov. 7 to support, Rod Cornejo said Deniece and their family have been affected for the last eight years since the alleged rape incident happened in 2014.
“Imagine eight years kang nakabitin, nasira ang career mo, lahat ng mga negosyo mo naapektuhan, then six months ka nakakulong? Compromise? Hindi tama. Napakamura naman. (Imagine you are left hanging for eight years, your career was destroyed, all your businesses were affected, then you were jailed for six months? Compromise? It is not right. It is cheap),” he said.
He added, “Anyway, desisyon niya ‘yun. I cannot do anything. In fact, I don’t know what is happening inside. In fact, I am taking a risk talking to you. But I feel I should give my opinion as a relative kasi magulo talaga. Apektado kami lahat (We are all affected). Eight years.”
“Siya na ang minolestiya, siya pa ang kinulong. Grabe naman, di ba? (She was the one who was molested but she was the one who was jailed. It is bad, isn’t it?),” he said, referring to the time when Cornejo was detained.
Deniece, Cedric Lee and others were charged with serious illegal detention and grave coercion related to the mauling of Navarro in her condominium unit that happened on Jan. 22, 2014. She was detained at Camp Crame.
Howard Calleja agreed with Cornejo.
"Wala naman usapan sa areglo, sa atras. Basta ang sabi namin derecho lang ang kaso. Justice for Deniece (There were no talks about settlement, withdrawal. We said we will pursue the case)," said Calleja.
According to the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication website, Rod became a special assistant to the president and head of community relations of GMA Network.
“He is a member of the Board of Directors of GMA Kapuso Foundation and a trustee of the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication. He specializes in the fields of advertising & promotions, public relations, sales & marketing, Christian Ministry, community relations, and education,” according to the website.
Cornejo was reacting to the idea floated by their relative when Navarro was arraigned at the Taguig court on Oct. 11.
Lawyer Axel Gonzalez, who identified himself as the cousin of Cornejo’s grandmother and the spokesperson of the family, said Vhong and Deniece should settle and move on.
“I feel as the spokesperson of the family, ang feeling nila, nung hindi pa na-indict si Vhong, hindi pa nakulong, parang masama talaga ang loob nila sa mundo. But now na na-indict si Vhong, at same time, nakulong, hindi na masyadong masakit (I feel as the spokesperson of the family, they felt that when Vhong was not yet indicted and jailed, they really felt bad towards the world. But now that Vhong was indicted, at the same time, jailed, it does not hurt that much),” Gonzalez said.
He added, “But as a lawyer, dapat, pareho silang may career, i-settle na nila ang problema. Because may rape si Deniece kesa kay Vhong. Si Vhong naman may serious illegal detention sa kanila (But as a lawyer, it should be, since they have their careers, they should settle the problem. Because Deniece has rape against Vhong. Vhong has serious illegal detention against them).”
Navarro allegedly raped Cornejo on Jan. 17, 2014 while the acts of lasciviousness purportedly occurred on Jan. 22, 2014.
According to Gonzalez, “Ang punto ay tulungan na lang natin ang korte. Let us settle all these problems na pwedeng ma-settle, hindi ba, and then move on na lang para sa akin (The point is let us just help the court. Let us settle all these problems that can be settled, and then just move on).”