Cornejo to be transported to Taguig RTC – PNP

Deniece Cornejo papunta na sa taguig RTC pic.twitter.com/Br0fp8xT6Y

— doland castro (@dolandcastro) May 5, 2014

MANILA (PNA) — Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said that detained model Deniece Cornejo would be transported and presented Tuesday morning to the Taguig RTC judge who issued the warrant of arrest.

In an interview, Police Director Benjamin Magalong, CIDG chief said that they would bring Cornejo at around 9 or 10 am to the court of origin that would then release a commitment order and decide where Cornejo would be detained.

Cornejo, one of the accused in the serious illegal detention and mauling of actor Vhong Navarro last Jan. 22, turned herself in to the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday afternoon after almost two weeks in hiding.

Cornejo spend her first night in jail with about seven human trafficking female suspects.

Cornejo was temporarily detained at the Anti-Transnational Crime Unit (ATCU) of the CIDG.

Magalong said that Cornejo and her relatives had sent surrender feelers last week.

Cornejo, 22, surrendered to PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima at Camp Crame accompanied by her relatives and lawyers Ariel Magtibay Jr. and Connie Jimenez.

He said Chief Superintendent Tom Bañas, PNP Human Rights Affairs Office chief and a family friend of Cornejo, received the feelers and arranged the date for her surrender on May 5.

Magalong said it was Cornejo’s “personal choice” to surrender at PNP and not at the NBI in Manila, where Lee and Palma are detained.

Despite this, Magalong assured that the beleaguered model would not be given any special treatment.

But before Cornejo surrendered, Magalong said relatives of Cornejo had asked the police to “respect” the rights of the model.

Cornejo – along with businessman Cedric Lee, Simeon Palma and several others – is charged with serious illegal detention, a nonbailable offense in connection with the Jan. 22 mauling of Navarro at a rented condominium unit of Cornejo in Taguig City.

Lee and Palma were arrested on April 27 in Eastern Samar. The arrest warrants for Cornejo and the two were issued last April 21.

Cornejo accused Navarro of raping her, the reason why the comedian was mauled by the group of Lee which caught him forcing himself to her as alleged by the suspects.

But Navarro said he was apparently set up, with the group of Lee forcing him to pay P500,000 in exchange for dropping the charges.

A Taguig court had issued arrest warrants against Lee, Cornejo, Raz, Ferdinand Guerrero and Sajed Fernandez Abuhijleh for the mauling of Navarro.

The warrants are for serious illegal detention, a non-bailable case. (PNA) FPV/CLTC

Twitter photo courtesy of ABS-CBN’s Doland Castro