(Update No. 2—6:30 p.m., Sunday, May 4) With the arrest of business man Cedric Lee and Zimmer Raz last week, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is now going after the rest of those charged for the serious illegal detention of actor Vhong Navarro—model Deniece Cornejo, Jed Fernandez., and Ferdinand Guerrero.
Along with Bernice Lee and Jose Paolo "JP" Calma, they are the seven people whom Navarro said were present in the January 22 incident at a condo unit in Forbeswood Heights in Taguig.
HER STORY
Ever since she went public, Cornejo has claimed that Navarro raped her. Navarro, on the other hand, says that Cornejo's so-called rescuers, Lee and the rest of the group, tried to extort money from him.
The Department of Justice has since junked the rape case Cornejo filed against Navarro. In a 42-page resolution dated April 4, 2014, the DOJ stated that "it was very difficult to comprehend how Navarro could have raped Cornejo, noting that there was not even a single scratch on the model."
Two other women—Roxanne Cabañero and Margarita "Mai" Fajardo—have also claimed that they were raped by Navarro. Navarro has denied the charges.
HINTS OF SURRENDER
The NBI says they have leads on where Cornejo, Fernandez, and Guerrero may be.
Atty. Efren Meneses, chief of NBI-NCR said, "[We've gotten tips] that they've been sighted at certain malls, hotels, and penthouses."
Raphael Ragos, deputy director for operations of the NBI, confirmed that Cornejo has sent "surrender feelers." He said, "Tine-test nila yung waters if hot or not. Siguro, alam mo naman, when you're in that situation magulo ang isip mo."
Then, seemingly addressing Cornejo, Ragos added, "You are welcome to surrender."
WARRANTS, EXITS, & ARRESTS
On April 10, Judge Bernard Pineda Bernal of Taguig Municipal Trial Court (MTC) Branch 74 issued arrest warrants for the grave coercion charge against Cornejo and the rest of their group. Bail was set at P12,000. The NBI was informed of the warrant on April 14.
Cornejo and Fernandez posted bail shortly after the warrant was issued.
Calma, due to the confusion over his name, managed to leave the country for Singapore on April 10.
Guerrero, on other hand, was prevented by immigration officers from getting on a flight to Hong Kong on April 14.
For his part, Lee had reportedly booked an April 12 flight to Dubai, but the booking was subsequently cancelled.
On April 21, the arrest warrants for the serious illegal detention charge were issued by Judge Paz Esperanza Cortes of the Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 271 against Lee, Raz, and three others in connection with the serious illegal detention case filed by Navarro. Calma and Cedric's sister, Bernice, were excluded from this charge, which is a non-bailable offense.
Bernice was arrested for the grave coercion charge on the evening of April 21 at her home in San Juan City. She spent the night in detention at the NBI headquarters. She posted bail on April 22.
Lee and Raz, who were arrested on April 26 in a remote town in Samar, were brought back to Manila on April 27 via a Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight (PR 2982) from Tacloban.
A GRANDFATHER'S PLEA
Meanwhile, Cornejo's granfather, Rod, sent a statement to ABS-CBN's showbiz talk show Buzz ng Bayan. His words were read on air during the Sunday, May 4 episode.
He said, "I believe Deniece is telling the truth. Because of this I believe she should immediately submit herself to the authorities and trust the judicial system to determine the truth once and for all."
Cornejo's grandfather also added, "I, therefore, appeal to your viewers to withhold their judgement and allow the process to determine the truth, the truth that sets one free."
Source: yahoo.com
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