Comedian Ferdinand “Vhong” Navarro returned to “It’s Showtime” on Jan. 17, signaling the resumption of his career after being released from jail in December.
“Thank you my showtime family! Thank you, God for making this happen. Na-miss ko kayo, Madlang Pips!” Navarro posted on Instagram along with a photo of his “It’s Showtime” family.
Navarro was in detention from September to December last year due to a non-bailable warrant of arrest issued by the Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 69 related to the rape case filed by model Deniece Cornejo.
In a decision on Dec. 5, the Taguig court granted Navarro’s petition for bail in the amount of P1 million. He was released from the Taguig City Jail Male Dormitory on Dec. 6.
Navarro returned to “It’s Showtime” just four days after the Taguig court dismissed the appeal of Cornejo, who sought to cancel his bail and put him back in jail.
One of his lawyers, Mariglen Abraham-Garduque, collaborating counsel during his bail petition, welcomed the star’s return to the TV show.
“I’m happy for him. This is the first step for complete healing,” Abraham-Garduque said.
She added, “Naiyak ako when he cried in Showtime (I cried when he cried in Showtime). I am also very grateful when he thanked me. It is my pleasure to be one of his lawyers in the petition for bail.”
Navarro’s rape trial will start on Feb. 16 at the Taguig RTC Branch 69. Based on the schedule issued by the court, the trial will last until 2024.
The Taguig court dismissed Cornejo’s appeal to overturn the bail grant to Navarro after it was found out that the appeal was filed without the approval of the Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office.
“At the outset, a perusal of the instant motion readily reveals the absence of any conformity from the Office of the City Prosecutor of Taguig City (‘OCP-Taguig). Time and again, the Supreme Court has emphasized that criminal actions shall be prosecuted under the direction and control of the prosecutor,” the Taguig court ruled.
It emphasized “that the required conformity of the public prosecutor was not a mere superfluity and was necessary to pursue a criminal action. A private party does not have the legal personality to prosecute the criminal aspect of a case, as it is the People of the Philippines who are the real party in interest. The criminal case must be under the direction and control of the public prosecutor.”
“Thus when the public prosecutor does not give his or her conformity to the pleading of a party, the party does not have the required legal personality to pursue the case. In this case, there is no conformity from the public prosecutor. Since the Motion to Reconsider pertains to the presentation of the prosecution's evidence, it involves the criminal aspect of the case and, thus, cannot be considered without the public prosecutor's conforme,” the court added.
It said, “Applying the foregoing rule and jurisprudence, the present motion deserves scant consideration from this court. Wherefore premises considered, the Motion for Reconsideration with Motion to Inhibit is hereby denied for lack of merit.”
Navarro welcomed the court’s latest decision.
“Thanks God,” Navarro told Abraham-Garduque upon learning of the court decision. Navarro added that he will never stop thanking God, according to his lawyer.