No missing file in rape, acts of lasciviousness case vs Vhong Navarro–malcontento

THE case file of Ferdinand “Vhong” Navarro has been transmitted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to the Office of the City Prosecutor (OCP) in Taguig City, two weeks after the Court of Appeals (CA) directed the department to file rape and acts of lasciviousness case against the ABS-CBN television host and actor.

“(The) folder was transmitted to the Office of the City Prosecutor (OCP) in Taguig City last Friday,” Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento on Monday said.

Malcontento made the statement to debunk a newspaper report that Navarro’s case records are missing.

He explained that they were able to trace the case file that was previously subject to a petition for review before the DOJ.

“When it was located, it contained numerous pages. The paging must be indicated in the transmittal,” he said.

The CA’S Fourteenth Division issued last July 21, 2022 a decision directing the City Prosecutor of Taguig City to file rape by sexual intercourse and acts of lasciviousness charges against Navarro.

The appellate court reversed and set aside the 2018 and 2020 resolutions of the DOJ dismissing the complaint filed by model Deniece Cornejo in 2014 against the actor-host.

It held that it was “erroneous” for the DOJ to junk Cornejo’s petition for review on the ground that her statements in the complaint-affidavits are inconsistent and incredible.

Based on its review of the complaint, the CA said all the elements of rape by sexual intercourse under paragraph (1) of Article 266-A are sufficiently alleged.

The CA said the DOJ should have left the trial court to weigh and decide on the merits of Cornejo’s accusations and Navarro’s counteraccusations.

“Given the peculiar nature of rape, it almost always presents a ‘he said, she said’ scenario which leaves the trial court the task to decide whom between the private complainant or the accused should it believe,” the CA said.

The Appellate Court stressed that it would ultimately be up to the trial court to determine who between Navarro and Cornejo speaks the truth.

Cornejo’s camp filed last week a motion before the Taguig Prosecutor’s Office seeking the immediate filing of the rape and acts of lasciviousness charges against Navarro.

To recall, Cornejo has accused Navarro of two counts of rape by sexual intercourse and by sexual assault.