Vhong Navarro reacts to SC's decision to junk his rape, acts of lasciviousness charges
Vhong Navarro has spoken up after he was cleared in the rape and acts of lasciviousness charges.
During a live telecast of It's Showtime on Tuesday, March 14, the actor-host thanked his supporters and said that he had been praying every night for his peace.
"Dasal ako nang dasal every day, every night na makuha ko na yung minimithi ko—na matapos na itong pinagdadaanan ko. May panahon na nawalan ako ng pag-asa, eh. Nawalan ako ng hope nung nasa loob ako (ng kulungan). Pero di ako tumigil sa pagdadasal," he said, adding that the Supreme Court (SC) has answered his prayers by resolving his pending cases.
He thanked the SC, his legal team, his network ABS-CBN, his bosses, and his manager.
"Of course, ABS-CBN, hindi ako iniwan. Binigyan ako ng trabaho. Welcome ako dito sa Showtime. Sir Carlo Katigbak, maraming-maraming salamat. Sir Mark Lopez, and, of course, Tita Cory Vidanes, maraming-maraming salamat," the actor said.
Vhong also thanked his friends, fans, and family who stood by him throughout his ordeal.
He added: "At ngayon po, dahil sa Supreme Court, naniniwala po ulit ako na may justice system sa Pilipinas."
This comes after the SC Third Division has ordered the dismissal of two criminal cases filed by Deniece Cornejo against the comedian-host due to lack of probable cause.
On Monday, March 13, the court made public their 43-page ruling dated February 8, detailing the reversal of the ruling issued by the Court of Appeals (CA) in July 2022 and September 2022.
Detailing the decision, the high court stated that the CA “gravely erred” in ordering the Department of Justine (DOJ) when it granted the appeal regarding the rape case despite Cornejo’s inconsistencies. They said that her accusations were "not trivial, minor or inconsequential."
"Indeed, no amount of skillful or artful deportment, manner of speaking or portrayal in a subsequent court proceeding could supplant Cornejo's manifestly inconsistent and highly deficient, doubtful and unclear accounts of her supposed harrowing experience in the hands of Navarro," it added.
“Under the circumstances, the CA simply had no basis to reverse 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 ruling continued.
“Having determined that the DOJ committed no grave abuse of discretion in affirming the finding of lack of probable cause against Navarro, the Court, in the interest of justice and fair play, is constrained to dismiss the subject Informations against him,” the ruling reads, as written by SC Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul Inting.
The Cornejo vs Navarro case started on January 22, 2014 when Cornejo filed a case for alleged sexual assault committed by Navarro. Navarro was left seriously injured after reportedly being mauled by Cornejo's friend, businessman Cedric Lee.
Denying the incident, Navarro also accused Cornejo and Lee of grave coercion, claiming that he was a victim of a set-up.
Navarro was temporarily detained in the National Bureau of Investigation before his transfer to Taguig City jail in November last year. He posted bail by the court in December 2022 after paying P1 million.