In an information filed at the Taguig City Regional Trial Court’s docket on Aug. 31 and released to the media on Friday, prosecutors accused Navarro of raping Cornejo by using “force, threat, and intimidation, and by purposely intoxicating the victim” in January 2014.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 2) — The Office of the City Prosecutor of Taguig filed a rape case against television host Ferdinand “Vhong” Navarro involving an incident with model-stylist Deniece Cornejo in 2014.
This story will be updated to include her side as soon as it’s available.
But the Taguig City Regional Trial Court ordered a delay in the raffling of the case until the resolution of Navarro’s appeal before the Court of Appeals, including an urgent petition for the issuance of a status quo ante order.
“Given the foregoing, the holding of raffle involving the criminal case of accused Ferdinand Navarro should be deferred until the motions are resolved,” RTC Executive Judge Antonio Olivete said in the order dated Sept. 1.
Navarro filed his appeal on Aug. 2, and the status quo ante order motion on Aug. 11. These were based on the CA’s July 21 decision that ordered the filing of rape and acts of lasciviousness charges against the TV host.
The CA’s 14th Division earlier reversed the decision of the Department of Justice in 2018 and 2020 that dismissed the complaints filed by Cornejo in 2014.
The court said it was erroneous for the DOJ to deny Cornejo’s petition for review on the ground that there were supposed “major inconsistencies” in the victim’s complaint-affidavits. It also said the preliminary investigation is not the venue to determine guilt or innocence.
The DOJ previously ruled that the rape complaints lacked probable cause. Cornejo in her affidavit accused Navarro of raping her on Jan. 17 and 22, 2014.
READ: CA orders DOJ to file rape case against Vhong Navarro
Navarro’s lawyer Alma Mallonga told ANC on Friday that they were surprised with the CA resolution.
“To be very honest, we were very surprised, it being the case that the dismissal of the rape allegations had been consistently dismissed multiple times,” Mallonga said.
She added that Cornejo may have only accused Navarro of abusing her after the latter filed a complaint against her and her group for serious illegal detention and grave coercion.
Navarro earlier accused Cornejo, along with the group of businessman Cedric Lee, of grave coercion for allegedly forcing him to falsely admit that he raped the model-stylist. He was also attacked by the group, leaving him with multiple injuries.
“It’s an afterthought, it’s incredible, and as correctly found by the Department of Justice, it is not consistent with human behavior if as you say you were raped on January 17, why would you meet up with Mr. Navarro again on January 22?” she said.
Cornejo has yet to speak up on the matter.
