The four people convicted in the celebrated Vhong Navarro case are now all in prison.
Ferdinand Guerrero, who surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on May 16, was taken by authorities to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa on May 17 to start serving his sentence.
A BuCor corrections officer giving a tangerine uniform to Ferdinand Guerrero (2nd from left) at the NBP RDC in Muntinlupa on May 17 (Photo courtesy of BuCor PIO)
Ferdinand Guerrero (in tangerine uniform) at the NBP RDC in Muntinlupa on May 17 (Photo courtesy of BuCor PIO)
Ferdinand Guerrero (4th from left) with NBI and BuCor officers at the NBP RDC in Muntinlupa on May 17 (Photo courtesy of BuCor PIO)
He arrived at the NBP Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC) at about 11:38 a.m., accompanied by his lawyers headed by Alex Avisado Jr.
He is the fourth and last person to be taken to the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).
On May 2, the Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 153 handed down its decision declaring Cedric Lee, Deniece Cornejo, Simeon Raz Jr. and Guerrero guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of serious illegal detention for ransom of Navarro.
The crime happened on Jan. 22, 2014 inside Cornejo’s condominium unit at Forbeswood Heights in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
The Taguig court sentenced Lee, Cornejo, Raz and Guerrero to reclusion perpetua, which carries imprisonment of “twenty years and one day to forty years,” according to the Revised Penal Code. Reclusion perpetua is different from life imprisonment.
The four convicted were also ordered to pay Navarro P100,000 as civil indemnity; P100,000 as moral damages and P100,000 as exemplary damages.
Now serving in prison are Deniece Cornejo, Ferdinand Guerrero, Cedric Lee and Simeon Raz Jr. (Photos: Cornejo's Facebook account, screenshots from ABS-CBN News videos, Taguig Police)
Vhong Navarro speaking about the decision on May 2 on "Its Showtime" (Screenshot from "It's Showtime" video)
Guerrero surrendered to the NBI in the office of his lawyer, Alex Avisado Jr., on Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati, two weeks after the Taguig court handed down its decision.
With Guerrero’s transfer to NBP, all the four convicted persons in the Navarro case are now serving in prison.
Guerrero joined Lee and Raz at the NBP RDC where he will stay for 60 days including five days in quarantine.
Immediately after the promulgation of the decision on May 2, Cornejo and Raz, who were present, were immediately taken into custody by the police.
On the same day, Cornejo was taken to the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong while Raz was transferred to the NBP.
Lee contacted the NBI and surrendered at the Ortigas Center in Mandaluyong. He was taken to the NBP on May 3.
At the NBP RDC, Guerrero underwent admission procedures for all newly-arrived Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs). His fingerprints and mugshots were taken and he was assigned a permanent prison number. All PDLs at the RDC are classified as maximum security PDL.
The NBP and RDC (Jonathan Hicap, BuCor's Facebook page)
After 60 days at the RDC, Guerrero will be classified as PDL based on his security risk.
Maximum security PDLs are those whose minimum sentence is 20 years imprisonment among other factors. The minimum sentence of the four convicted persons is 20 years.
Lee and Raz are currently at the NBP RDC, and Cornejo at the CIW RDC.
The four are eligible for pardon after serving 30 years of their sentence.
Related stories:
Taguig RTC convicts Cedric Lee, Deniece Cornejo for serious illegal detention filed by Vhong Navarro
Deniece Cornejo spends first night at Correctional as maximum security prisoner
Ferdinand Guerrero, convicted in Vhong Navarro case, surrenders: ‘God loves us’