SC junks rape case vs Vhong

MANILA, Philippines — Television host Vhong Navarro has been cleared of rape and acts of lasciviousness after the Supreme Court (SC) affirmed an earlier decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissing the charges filed against him by model Deniece Cornejo.

In a ruling made public yesterday, the SC’s Third Division said the DOJ did not commit grave abuse of discretion when it dismissed the cases filed against Navarro for lack of probable cause.

Navarro suffered a legal setback before the Court of Appeals (CA) after it stood by its July 2022 decision, which overturned the DOJ resolutions dismissing the charges.

Cornejo filed separate complaints against Navarro before the Taguig prosecutor’s office on Jan. 17, 2014 and Jan. 22, 2014.

The CA reversed the DOJ resolutions dated April 30, 2018 and July 14, 2020, which dismissed the complaints filed by Cornejo against Navarro.

The appellate court had ordered the Taguig prosecutor’s office to file charges of rape and acts of lasciviousness against Navarro.

In reversing the CA ruling, the SC said the appeals court “had no basis to overturn the prosecutor’s finding of lack of probable cause.”

“On the contrary, it is the CA that disregarded such parameters when it substituted its own judgment for that of the prosecutor’s finding of lack of probable cause against Navarro,” the SC said.

The SC pointed out that the DOJ had reasons to doubt Cornejo’s claims due to “glaring and manifest” inconsistencies.

Navarro was released from detention last December after posting bail of P1 million.