No bail: 2nd arrest warrant out vs. Cedric Lee, 4 others

MANILA, Philippines — A Taguig City court has issued warrants of arrest against businessman Cedric Lee, model Deniece Cornejo and three others for serious illegal detention charges in connection with the mauling of television host Vhong Navarro.

Judge Paz Esperansa Cortez of the Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 271 issued the arrest orders two weeks after the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted the respondents for the mauling of television host Vhong Navarro last January 22.

Chief Superintendent Jose Erwin Villacorte, director of the Southern Police District, said that they have secured "advanced" copies of the arrest warrants against Lee, Cornejo, Simeon Palma Raz, Ferdinand Guerrero and Sajed Fernandez Abuhijleh alias “Jed Fernandez.”

Serious illegal detention is a non-bailable charge.

Villacorte, meanwhile, said it was not clear why the court did not issue arrest warrants for the sister of Cedric, Bernice Cua Lee, and Paolo Gregorio Calma.

“We only asked the court to furnish us with advance copies of the warrants before these are sent to Camp Crame for dissemination nationwide,” said Villacorte.

Navarro’s lawyer Alma Mallonga said she was surprised why the court only issued five arrest warrants.

“We are still trying to find out why only five arrest warrants were issued. Even the clerk of court would not comment. What we are getting are all second-hand information,” Mallonga, who is out of the country, told the Star.

Mallonga said Navarro’s camp will be issuing a statement as soon as the reason why only five arrest warrants were issued becomes clear.

The DOJ had said that the charges for serious physical injuries, grave threats and illegal arrest as well as extortion are deemed absorbed in the serious illegal detention case.

"The panel [of prosecutors] did not give credit to the defense of the Respondents that Navarro was arrested [by Lee's group] under a valid citizen's arrest because he was caught attempting to rape Cornejo," the DOJ said in a statement.

The Taguig Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 74 issued an arrest warrant against the group last April 11 for grave coercion charges.

Read: Arrest warrant out vs. Cedric Lee, Deniece | Cedric, 4 others placed in SPD's wanted list

Cornejo and Abuhjileh have posted bail for the first arrest orders.

All of the accused in Navarro's mauling have also been on the police's wanted list.