“It’s Showtime” host and comedian Ferdinand “Vhong” Navarro is spending time with his family and reconnecting with friends this Christmas season following his release on bail from detention.
Navarro, accused of raping model Deniece Cornejo on Jan. 17, 2014, was released from the Taguig City Jail Male Dormitory on Dec. 6 after the Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 69 granted his petition for bail. He posted a P1 million bail for his provisional liberty.
Lawyer Mariglen Abraham-Garduque, Navarro’s collaborating counsel, had earlier said that the grant of bail was an early Christmas gift for him.
“Currently, he is spending time with his family and starting to reconnect with his friends,” Abraham-Garduque said. Navarro is married to Tanya Bautista with whom he has two kids.
On Dec. 12, dance group Streetboys posted a photo with Navarro on Facebook.
“A very merry Christmas to all of you! Brothers for life! From the bottom of our hearts.... A huge ‘THANK YOU’ for the prayers and undying support! May God be with us always,” the caption read.
In the photo, Navarro was with fellow Streetboys members including Jhong Hilario, Spencer Reyes, and Maynard Marcellano.
Navarro was detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) starting on Sept. 19 when the Taguig court issued a non-bailable warrant of arrest against him for the rape case.
He originally surrendered to the NBI office in Quezon City to post a P36,000 bail for the case of acts of lasciviousness, also filed by Cornejo. However, the warrant of arrest for the rape case came out in the afternoon of the same day. He was transferred to the NBI detention center in Manila on Sept. 20.
The Taguig RTC Branch 69 issued a commitment order for Navarro to be transferred to the Taguig City Jail Male Dormitory. The NBI transferred him to the jail on Nov. 21.
After his release from detention, Navarro is making up for lost time with his loved ones.
“Bumawi sa time with family. Almost three months din syang nakakulong and syempre babawiin nya ang time na di nya na spend sa family nya (He made up for lost time with family. He was detained for almost three months and, of course, he will make up for lost time he did not spend with his family),” said Abraham-Garduque.
In addition, Navarro is set to go back to “It’s Showtime” in January.
“Yes, he will go back to the thing he loves most, magpasaya ng madlang people. Yun nga lang he needs time to heal and recover so that he can go back to work (Yes he will go back to the thing he loves most, to make people happy. But he needs time to heal and recover so that he can go back to work),” the lawyer added.
Abraham-Garduque said “(I) personally wish him good health both in body and mind. Alam naman natin na hindi madali pinagdaanan nya (We know that what he went through was not easy) and of course, he has to deal with the trauma caused by his incarceration. I wish for him to retain his strength and faith. I know it will take time but I wish that soon makabalik na sya sa dati (will be back to where he was before).”
Navarro’s rape trial will start on Feb. 16 next year as set by the Taguig RTC Branch 69.