‘Kuya Vhong’s claims exaggerated’

The woman who had accused comedian-TV host Vhong Navarro of attempting to rape her inside her condominium unit on Jan. 22 on Monday denied his allegations that she and businessman Cedric Lee set him up in an attempt to extort money from him.

In an interview on Inquirer Radio, Deniece Milinette Cornejo called Navarro’s claims “an exaggeration.”

“We do not have time to think about setting him up. And besides, why would we do such a thing inside my house? Everything happened so fast; we were all shocked. And we would not take legal action if we had planned all of this,” she said.

Cornejo, who described herself as a model and fashion stylist, narrated that it was the TV host who suddenly insisted on coming over to her place even if she told him she had plans with Lee and his sister, Bernice, that night.

“I am a busy person. I am working on a lot of projects. I don’t have time to invite him. It was he who insisted on bringing food to my condo,” she said.

Still, she welcomed him to her house because “I trusted him. He was my friend. And we all know him to be a funny guy. He makes people happy,” Cornejo added.

In a police blotter entry she filed immediately after the Jan. 22 incident, she claimed that Navarro tried to rape her when he visited her that night. Fortunately, Lee and his sister arrived and stopped him while the businessman’s other male friends also stepped in to defend her.

As for the TV host’s claims of extortion, she said that it was all an exaggeration.

“I wouldn’t allow that to happen in my house. He’s the one in the wrong. He’s the one who fought back. I am saddened that the men who defended me are now the ones who look bad.”

“I have a reputation, my family’s reputation to take care of. I wouldn’t put my name on the line, especially knowing that I will be against a person whom I highly respected, whom I considered a brother,” Cornejo said, adding she even called Navarro “Kuya Vhong.”

“I have no time for that scenario. If there’s a victim here, if there’s an innocent here, it’s me and no one else,” she added.

According to her, her voice was still hoarse from shouting while Navarro attempted to rape her.

Asked about the legal actions she would take, Cornejo said she would leave it to her lawyer. “I am still shocked by what happened. But I have this to say: I gave kindness, I was repaid with evil.”

Meanwhile, the police who were on duty when the blotter report accusing the TV host of rape was filed have denied that they did anything wrong.

PO3 Dalmacio Lumuian and PO3 Rolly Laureto of the Southern Police District’s Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management said that Navarro was taken into the station by Lee, his sister Bernice and Cornejo’s male cousin at 11:49 p.m. on Jan. 22.

The TV host had “a swollen right eye, blood on his forehead and his hands duct-taped behind his back,” Lumuian said. Lee had told them that they carried out a “citizen’s arrest” after they caught the TV host in the act of attempting to rape Cornejo in her condominium unit at Forbeswood Heights.

“We asked him what happened. He didn’t want to talk. His only request was that the incident would not be revealed to the media,” Laureto added.