NOW that actor Vhong Navarro is a free man, at least temporarily, the first thing he did was to make up for the lost time his months of detention took from him and his family. 

In a tweet, Navarro’s ex-wife former actress Bianca Lapus said: “Been on hiatus, been very busy attending to personal / family matters. And I decided to just rest my social media first. Medyo checking ako now. Thank you all for you prayers and support.”

“My son is very happy nagbabawi ng oras ang mag aama,” she said. 

Navarro posted P1 million bail last December 6. He was previously detained at the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila before his transfer to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. 

Lapus was among the people who showed support and fought for Navarro.

In a tweet last August 2, Lapus made it clear that she was behind Navarro all the way. She also vouched for her ex-husband’s character.

“Standing by this good man,” she said. 

“Not perfect but definitely a good kind hearted man. Otherwise it won’t be easy for me to become friends and co parent with him. The truth will prevail. Walang iwanan,” Lapus added. 

Back in August, the Court of Appeals has ordered Navarro’s arrest with the filing of rape and acts of lasciviousness case against him by model Denice Cornejo.

The CA move reversed the 2018 and 2020 Department of Justice decision that junk the cases filed by Cornejo against Navarro. 

Life after bail

In an interview on ANC, his legal counsel Alma Mallonga confirmed that the Streetboys member can now work once again and travel too but with prior court approval. 

“It’s up to Vhong,” Mallonga said about the possibility of Navarro going back to TV work. 

“He could work immediately but frankly, for me, and this is what I advised him: ‘you have to consult people other than your lawyer’ because there is no legal obstacle to you working from my mind,” she said. 

Life inside prison 

Mallonga said she herself witnessed her client’s plight in prison. Having been there since day one, she was very thankful that Navarro’s safety was kept throughout his detention. 

“It was very hard for him, I don’t want to say that it was too hard mainly because I don’t want some sectors to enjoy what was happening to him to just rejoice but I have to be honest it was very difficult,” Mallonga said in an interview on ANC

“I’m very very thankful. When Mr. Navarro was detained both at the NBI and Taguig, he was treated right, the circumstances were difficult because he was with other detainees but he had to feel with them, he had to interact with them, in the end they were very very nice,” she said. 

Mallonga also noted that she was relieved that the jail personnel said Navarro’s safety for them “is a matter of pride.”