Vhong refuses to enter plea in rape case

MANILA, Philippines — Host-comedian Vhong Navarro refused to enter a plea during his arraignment for rape yesterday.

Navarro is on trial for rape before the Taguig City Regional Trial Court Branch 69 after model Deniece Cornejo accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2014.

In an interview with reporters, Navarro’s legal counsel Alma Mallonga said they have a petition to review the case pending before the Supreme Court.

“For the reasons stated in our petition for review which I will not discuss, we thought it more prudent not to allow Mr. Vhong Navarro to enter a plea,” Mallonga said.

“Under the rules, therefore, the court entered a plea of not guilty. That is what happened,” she added.

Navarro surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last month after the Taguig court released a warrant of arrest for a case of acts of lasciviousness.

After Navarro posted P36,000 bail, an arrest warrant for rape was served that same day. Navarro has been under the custody of the NBI since then.

Yesterday, Navarro did not appear at the arraignment proceedings personally and instead attended by videoconferencing.

Cornejo, on the other hand, did not attend the arraignment in person after the court did not allow her to attend via videoconferencing.