Deniece Cornejo's rape charge vs. Vhong Navarro junked by DOJ

Actor-host Vhong Navarro filed on Thursday, April 10, his response to the complaint lodged against him by Margarita "Mai" Fajardo. The said complaint is the third rape charge filed against Navarro.

On the same day, the Department of Justice (DOJ) junked an earlier rape charge filed against him by model Deniece Cornejo.

Navarro vs. Cornejo

The first person to file rape charges against Vhong was modelCornejo, who said in her affidavit that the actor forced her to perform oral sex on him, and tried to insert his penis in her vagina on January 22. This was the same night Lee and his group allegedly came to her rescue.

Navarro said he was blindfolded and tied up then attacked by at least six men. Lee and his companions has denied Navarro's allegations that they tried to blackmail him.

Asked to comment on DOJ's junking of the rape charge against Navarro, Cornejo's lawyer, Atty. Howard Calleja said, "We reserve our right to comment at this point in time because we have not received the copy of the resolution, and we also reserve our right to proceed with the legal remedies available for our client."

Navarro—who was doing his routine hosting duties in the noontime show It's Showtime when he got the news that the DOJ had junked Cornejo's case against him—cried tears of joy.

Navarro addressed the public, saying, "Gusto ko pong magpasalamat sa ating Panginoon, especially sa madlang people, sa mga naniniwala, sa mga nagdasal, sa lahat po ng nagpalakas ng aking loob sa likod at sa harap ng camera."

Vhong Navarro filed on Thursday his response to the third rape complaint lodged against him by a certain Margarita …

Problematic sequels: Cabañero and Fajardo

The second rape charge filed against the actor was from Roxanne Cabañero.

The complaint-affidavit, which was signed by Cabañero who was then a Miss Bikini Philippines pageant candidate and Assistant City Prosecutor Richard Parras, specifies that the alleged rape happened on "April 24, 2010, 11-pm to 1:AM" in "Pasig City, near Astoria Hotel."

Cabañero said she was raped by Navarro after he supposedly fetched her from the hotel, where she claimed to have been staying with other pageant contestants.

Comedian Vice Ganda, however, made a testimony, claiming Navarro was among the guest performers at his concert held at Island Cove resort in Cavite, on the same night Cabanero alleged that the actor raped her in Pasig City.

Fajardo is the latest one to charge Navarro With rape. She claimed the incident happened in 2009, when she was working as a stunt double in a show where Navarro was one of the cast members.

Navarro's lawyer, Atty. Alma Mallonga, earlier said Navarro had been expecting the third rape complaint, alleging that this is probably just another ploy by businessman Cedric Lee to divert attention away from the primary case.

Lee, who is identified as Cornejo's friend, is one of eight persons slapped with criminal charges in relation to the mauling of Navarro last January 22. Lee has denied Navarro's allegations.

from: https://anc.yahoo.com/news/vhong-files-counter-affidavit-vs--third-rape-complaint-043647415.html

Vhong Navarro

Ferdinand Hipolito Navarro (born January 4, 1977), better known as Vhong Navarro, is a Filipino actor, comedian, dancer, singer and host at ABS-CBN. He is part of the dance group Streetboys in the Philippines.

As part of the dance group Streetboys, Navarro was discovered by director Chito S. Roño who continues to manage him. Among the products he has endorsed were Sprite, Pop-Cola, RRJ, Lucky Me, Selecta Ice Cream and Blu Tab.

He appears frequently on the Sunday variety show ASAP and in It's Showtime as a host.

Navarro has requested a DNA test to prove his paternity of a daughter claimed to be his.

The Philippine Court of Appeals, on July 9, 2008, affirmed the annulment of marriage of Navarro to Lalaine Bianca Lapus.

He has 2 sons, Fredriek "Bruno" and Isaiah "Yce" Navarro.

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Assault incident

On January 22, 2014, Navarro was allegedly attacked and severely beaten by a group of men inside a condominium unit in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, according to his manager, Chito Rono. Rono said Navarro was invited by a female friend named Deniece Cornejo to visit her in her condominium unit, where he was tied up and blindfolded by several men, threatened and then beaten up. The perpetrator was identified as Cedric Lee, who was also accompanied by several other men during the time of the incident. Following this, it was stated that Navarro will temporarily not be appearing on It's Showtime and other television projects while he continues to recover.

Navarro was accused of alleged attempted rape which he denied. In an interview with TV host Boy Abunda on Buzz ng Bayan, Navarro said he was apparently set up and the people who beat him up were asking for up to P2 million. On January 29, 2014, one week after the incident, Cornejo filed a rape case against Navarro. But the National Bureau of Investigation said it was unlikely that there was an attempted rape on Cornejo, based on the CCTV footage.

The controversial incident has raised concerns over rape culture, and victim blaming. In an article posted on GMA News Online, Carljoe Javier expresses consternation with the treatment of the alleged rape of Cornejo:

I understand that there are certain aspects of this case which raise possible opportunities for discussion. The most important point for discussion would be the way that we are now discussing rape. It’s disgusting how certain people have taken this as an opportunity to attempt to discredit rape victims as people who are just crying wolf. Many women are victims of sexual assault and sexual abuse and we must acknowledge this and attempt to prevent these terrible acts from happening. This is a truth regardless of the veracity of the claims of Deniece Cornejo.

When asked to explain her situation, Cornejo reports to the Inquirer and states, "Victim blaming is a very common practice throughout the world especially for rape victims" ^[10]

On February 19, 2014, a woman by the name of Roxanne Cabanero filed another rape case against Navarro. Cabanero's lawyer, Virgilio Batalla, maintains that the alleged rape took place in 2010.^[11] Netizens were quick to denounce the new case, and voiced their doubt regarding the genuineness of the claim on social media. 

Former beauty contestant accuses Vhong of rape

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Kapamilya actor Vhong Navarro faces another rape complaint, this time from former beauty contestant  Roxanne Acosta.

She relates that the incident happened in 2010, after she met Vhong in a noontime show four years ago.

According to a report on "24 Oras," Vhong fetched Roxanne in a hotel, where she was staying with friends. Roxanne didn't delve into details about how the alleged rape happened.

Scared and young

Asked why she came out in the open only now, Roxanne replied, "I was scared, I was young. He threatened me. That was the truth. The reason why I didn't come out that day kasi wala akong laban. Takot ako, kasi baka patayin niya ako eh."

The 24-year-old Roxanne added that Deniece Cornejo’s rape charge against Vhong gave her (Roxanne) the confidence to go to court. 

Roxanne's legal counsel Virgilio Batalla shared that his client has been feeling uneasy over people’s  comments about Vhong  on social media.

"She was very down kasi sa social media, madaming tagahanga ang artista natin na si Vhong. So, hindi mo maiaalis sa kanya na mangamba," Batalla told TV Patrol.

Cedric’s claim

In an interview with ABS-CBN, businessman Cedric Lee, against whom Vhong filed multiple charges,  claimed some women would also like to file complaints against the TV host-comedian.

"Merong ilang babae ang nagpapasalamat sa akin sa ginawa ko kay Vhong dahil sila raw ay biktima rin ni Vhong sa mga ganyang attempted rape," Cedric said.

It will be recalled that Vhong, who got involved in a mauling incident in a condominium unit in Taguig City, filed charges of serious physical injuries, illegal detention, grave threats, unlawful arrest, grave coercion and blackmail against Cedric and Deniece’s group.

The  Taguig City court junked Deniece’s plea for a temporary protection order  against Vhong for lack of merit.

Vhong’s lawyer reacts

Meanwhile, the TV host-comedian’s  legal counsel Alma Mallonga downplays the new rape complaint against her client.

"Vhong is very confident na wala siyang ginagawang krimen against anybody," she said in an interview on DZMM.

The TV host-comedian has the support of Anne Curtis, Vice Ganda and other fellow celebrities.