The Taguig Regional Trial Court has allowed controversial TV host-comedian Ferdinand “Vhong” Navarro to gain temporary liberty in connection with the rape and acts of lasciviousness case filed against him by model Deniece Cornejo. 

RTC Branch 69 Judge Loralie Cruz Datahan granted Navarro’s petition for bail and set it at P1 million. 

Navarro has been detained since September.

“Viewed in light of all the foregoing, and taking the evidence presented in the bail hearings as a whole, this court is not convinced at this point, that there exists a presumption great leading to the inference of the accused’s guilt,” Datahan said. 

“It must be emphasized, however, that a grant of bail does not prevent the Court, as trier of facts, from making a final assessment of the evidence after full trial on the merits,” she added. 

She also cited inconsistencies in Cornejo’s statements. 

“Indeed, the notable inconsistencies in the testimony of the private complainant could not be simply brushed aside, considering that these delve into the elements of the offense charged,” she said. 

She noted that Cornejo herself said she was drugged, and then later testified that she wasn’t certain about it. 

Last November 21, Navarro was transferred from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Detention center in Manila to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. 

Navarro surrendered to the NBI last September 19 after a warrant was issued for his arrest over the acts of lasciviousness case also filed by Cornejo with. His bail for this case was set at P36,000. 

On September 19, non-bailable arrest warrant was issued against him over the rape charge.