MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday filed charges of serious illegal detention and grave coercion against businessman Cedric Lee, model Deniece Cornejo and five others in a Taguig City court for allegedly beating up and extorting money from TV host Vhong Navarro inside a condominium on Jan. 23.
At the same time, the DOJ dealt another blow to Cornejo when it dropped for lack of probable cause the rape charge she filed against Navarro. The DOJ, however, also dismissed the TV host’s complaint of threatening to publish and offer to prevent publication for compensation and obstruction of justice against the respondents.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told reporters that the serious illegal detention case filed against Lee and his group was nonbailable, “especially in this particular case [since] it [was] attended by circumstances of infliction of serious physical injuries and grave threats.”
She added that there was an element of extortion in the serious illegal detention complaint which the all-female DOJ panel that heard the case against Lee’s group viewed as being tantamount to ransom.
According to De Lima, these three elements qualified for serious illegal detention. “And since [it] is punishable by reclusa perpetua, then that is considered as nonbailable,” she said.
Charged along with Lee and Cornejo were Bernice Lee, also known as Marie, Simeon Palma Raz aka Zimmer Raz, Jose Paolo Gregorio Calma, Ferdinand Guerrero and Sajed Fernandez Abuhijleh aka Jed Fernandez.
The case against Lee et al. was docketed as Criminal Case No. 153705-TG and raffled off to Judge Paz Esperanza M. Cortes of the Taguig City Regional Trial Court Branch 271.
Meanwhile, in its resolution dated April 4, the DOJ panel dismissed Cornejo’s rape complaint against the TV host, saying it found “extremely difficult to comprehend” her claim that she struggled [against Navarro] and ran to the lobby of Forbeswood Heights condominium but that these actions were not noticed by people in other units or in the corridors.
“More so baffling was how she could have refused to be brought to hospital for evaluation, after she was told by police officers of such policy in instances of rape complaints, and simply opted to have the complaint placed on a blotter report,” it added.
“Since complainant was unable to provide us with a logical story on her alleged rape, the said case should be dismissed,” the panel said.
Cornejo had claimed that Navarro tried to rape her inside her condominium unit on Jan. 23. She said that Lee and the others arrived in time to prevent the rape. The TV host, on the other hand, claimed that it was all a setup because Lee wanted to extort money from him.
At the same time, the DOJ panel ismissed the obstruction of justice complaint filed against Maximo Meregildo of Mega Force Security Agency—the firm in charge of security at the condominium building— and his men, security officers Romeo Nebado Jr., Jeffry Viniegas and Roderick Garbin.
In its 42-page resolution, the DOJ said that Navarro’s “vivid” recollection of the time he spent in Cornejo’s condominium unit showed that he was “actually restrained or deprived of his liberty against his will, making the respondents liable for serious illegal detention.”
“Although complainant voluntarily went to the condo unit of respondent Cornejo, the same does not give respondents the right to detain and place the victim at their mercy,” said the panel composed of Assistant State Prosecutors Olivia Torrevillas, Hazel Decena-Valdez and Mari Elvira Herrera.
They added that the “ultimate goal and purpose” of beating up Navarro and threatening him was to extort money from the TV host.
“In this light, the demand for money made by the respondents from Navarro may be likened to a demand for ransom in exchange for Navarro’s liberty while he was being unlawfully detained by respondents,” the panel said.
It also found probable cause to indict Lee and company for the crime of serious illegal detention with demand for ransom or money.
Meanwhile, Navarro denied the rape complaint filed against him in the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office by a female stunt double who claimed he sexually abused her five years ago inside a sport utility vehicle (SUV).
In his counteraffidavit filed on Thursday afternoon with Prosecutor Nilda Ordoño, the TV host pointed out that the alleged victim did not say that she resisted or cried for help. She could also not say when exactly she was molested and forced to perform oral sex on him, he added.
According to him, the case was filed to harass and embarrass him. For her part, Ordoño considered the complaint submitted for resolution after the complainant failed to attend yesterday’s preliminary investigation.
In his counteraffidavit, Navarro said, “I categorically deny that I raped the complainant ‘sometime in early 2009,’ supposedly inside my SUV ‘with lots of other people around outside.’ I did not ask my driver to tell [her] to go inside my car. I did not do the things she accused [me] of doing to her inside the vehicle. I did not rape her.—With Jeannette I. Andrade