Deniece Cornejo surrenders

MANILA, Philippines — Fugitive commercial model Deniece Cornejo, accused of illegally detaining television host Vhong Navarro, surrendered to the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday.

Cornejo, wearing a black collared shirt, arrived at the PNP headquarters at Camp Crame and was immediately placed under the custody of PNP chief Alan Purisima.

Cornejo was among the five accused in the illegal detention case filed by the National Bureau of Investigation-Department of Justice before the Taguig Regional Trial Court.

PNP said in a radio report that Cornejo's family coordinated with Purisima for her surrender.

She will be brought to the Women's Desk of the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group before she is presented to the court.

In a dzBB interview, PNP spokesperson Senior Superintendent Theodore Sindac said that Cornejo will not enjoy special privileges despite the attention attracted by the case.

"[Cornejo] will be treated ... as any other detainee," Sindac said.

He also said that Cornejo's surrender was not expected as agents of the NBI was still tracking her whereabouts over the weekend. She was believed to have been hiding in Eastern Samar.

Related: NBI raids Samar home for Deniece Cornejo

Cornejo's co-accused, businessman Cedric Lee and martial artist Simeon Palma aka Zimmer Raz, were arrested last April 27 in Eastern Samar.

Jed Fernandez and Ferdinand Guerrero, who were among those charged in connection with the assault on Navarro last January, are still on the run.

Cornejo accused Navarro of rape, in the act of which Lee and companions rescued the model and mauled the showbiz personality last January 22. The DOJ, however, dismissed the rape complaint citing the lack of logic in Cornejo's tesimony. - with Cecille Suerte Felipe