NBI to transfer Vhong Navarro to Taguig jail

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has been ordered to transfer comedian-host Vhong Navarro to the Taguig City jail in connection with the rape case filed against him by model Deniece Cornejo.

In a statement yesterday, the NBI Security Management Section said it received an order from the Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 69 to commit Navarro to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facility at Camp Bagong Diwa.

Navarro is in the custody of the NBI after he surrendered last September.

The actor will have to be detained at the city jail pending the resolution of his petition for bail. Navarro is also facing a separate complaint for acts of lasciviousness.

The bureau will transfer Navarro to the Taguig jail after the release of his reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction or RT-PCR test, which was conducted yesterday, according to NBI spokesperson Gisele Garcia-Dumlao.

“Navarro needs to undergo a mandatory medical examination, including RT-PCR test, in compliance with the health protocol requirements prior to his transfer to the BJMP,” Dumlao said.

In an interview upon his surrender to the NBI, Navarro said he has forgiven Cornejo. But he said he would not issue a public apology, which is tantamount to admitting to the crime.

In 2014, Navarro was accused of raping Cornejo, for which he was beaten up by a group led by businessman Cedric Lee.

Navarro sued Cornejo, Lee and their cohorts for serious illegal detention. They are out on bail.

Last August, the Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the Department of Justice in 2018 and 2020, which dismissed the rape and acts of lasciviousness complaints filed by Cornejo against Navarro.