President Benigno S. Aquino III presides over the Cabinet Meeting at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room of the Malacañan Palace on Tuesday (December 10, 2013). In photo are Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr., Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad and Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr. (Photo by: Benhur Arcayan / Malacañang Photo Bureau)
MANILA, Feb 3 (Mabuhay) – The Department of Justice has consolidated all cases related to the mauling of actor Vhong Navarro in a condominium in Taguig City last month.
In a one-page order issued on Monday, Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, head of the National Prosecution Service which is under the DOJ, said they were consolidating two cases because they “arose from the same incident, founded on the same factual and legal issues involving same parties.”
The consolidated cases included the rape case filed with the Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office by model-stylist Deniece Cornejo against Navarro, who was mauled by friends of Cornejo led by Cedric Lee inside the Forbeswood Condominium at the Bonifacio Global City.
The rape case was consolidated with a separate case filed with the DOJ by Navarro against his own accuser, Cornejo, Lee and several other involved in the mauling.
Navarro filed cases of illegal detention, serious physical injuries, grave threats, grave coercion, illegal arrest, and blackmail.
The Taguig City Prosecutor’s Office was also asked to turn over all records of the case filed by Cornejo to the DOJ “immediately upon receipt hereof.”
Both camps have denied the respective accusations against them.
Last week, the Taguig City police said they would also be filing charges against the building administrators and security agency hired by the condominium.
Police chief Senior Superintendent Arthur Felix Asis had earlier said Megaforce’s failure to inform authorities of the incident denied investigators the chance to properly secure the possible crime scene and to preserve evidence.
The security agency had said it has put in place a standard security procedure in handling cases similar to the incident. (MNS)