Daily Serving of Legal Matters

A photo of Vhong Navarro, Cedric Lee and Deniece Cornejo taken from google.com. Another twist in the real legal drama of Vhong Navarro-Cedric Lee-Deniece Cornejo teleserye has unfurled on Monday, September 15, 2014.  Accused Cedric Lee, Deniece Cornejo and Simeon Raz, Jr. were allowed to post bail in the amount of Five Hundred Thousand (P500,000.00) for each of them in the decision handed by Taguig Regional Trial Court on the petition to fix bail filed by the accused in a Serious Illegal Detention case filed by Actor-It's Showtime Host Vhong Navarro. Said decision brought shock to Navarro's camp and as well as to most netizens following the case.  In contrast, it was a heaven-sent decision on the part of the accused. Although, the criminal case faced by the accused is a serious illegal detention and this case is a non-bailable offense considering that it is a capital offense. A capital offense is one on which, under the law existing at the time of its commis...

Photo of Cedric Lee taken from ABS-CBNnews.com Cedric Lee strikes again.  When the case of Grave Coercion was heard for mediation, actor-host Vhong Navarro was not present.  It was Vhong Navarro who filed against Cedric Lee, Bernice Lee, Deniece Cornejo, Simeon "Zimmer" Raz, Jr., Ferdinand Guerrero, Jed Fernandez and Jose Calma for Grave Coercion in the controversial and highly sensationalized mauling of the actor-host last January 22, 2014. Vhong Navarro was absent during the mediation hearing of the grave coercion case. Cedric Lee when asked for his comment after the hearing, he said: "Hindi dumating 'yung rapist, e. May nire-rape pa sa ibang lugar." He also said no when asked if he is open to have a settlement with Navarro. With the utterance of Cedric Lee against Vhong Navarro, what would be its legal consequence, if any? The act of Cedric Lee in calling Vhong Navarro allegedly of a rapist may constitute the crime of slander. Sla...

Atty. Alma Mallonga and Florencia Cornejo.  Photo taken from google. The legal drama of Vhong Navarro-Cedric Lee and Deniece Cornejo has ramified anew.  This time is between the grandmother of the Deniece Cornejo and Vhong Navarro's lawyer Atty. Alma Mallonga. Allegedly, Florencia Cornejo claimed that she was pushed by Mallonga after she saw her wearing a shirt that says, "Justice for Deniece, Jail the Rapist" (ABS-CBNnews.com). So what constitutes the crime of grave coercion? The Revised Penal Code defines the crime of grave coercion as: Article 286.  Grave Coercions. - The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding 500 pesos shall be imposed upon any person, who without authority of law, shall, by means of violence, prevent another from doing something not prohibited by law, or compel him to do something against his will, whether it be right or wrong. If the coercion be committed for the purpose of compelling another to perform any relig...

On April 30, 2014, Cedric Lee and Simeon Raz appeared in court for the scheduled arraignment.  This hearing is in connection to the Serious Illegal Detention Vhong Navarro filed against them.  It is to be noted that among the persons charged with the mentioned criminal case, only Cedric Lee and Simeon Raz were brought to the jurisdiction of the court.  Others remain at large as of this writing.  The two were reportedly arrested from the far-flung area of Samar. For the information of all the readers, the Arraignment is the start of the reeling of the wheel of Justice once the case is already pending in court.  Thus, this post will discuss about Arraignment. Definition of Arraignment: According to  http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/arraignment , an arraignment is defined as a  criminal proceeding at which the defendant is officially called before a court of competent jurisdiction, informed of the offense charged in the complain...

With the recent development of Vhong Navarro-Cedric Lee-Deniece Cornejo's legal battle, Vhong Navarro appears to be triumphant this early.  It was already broadcasted that the rape case filed by Deniece Cornejo against Vhong Navarro was junked by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for utter lack of probable cause. Meaning to say, the DOJ was convinced that Vhong Navarro is innocent and there was no probability based on the evidences submitted by both camps that he did commit the crime charged. On the other hand, Cedric Lee and Deniece Cornejo (among the persons charged with cases filed by Vhong Navarro) were successfully indicted with Grave Coercion, Serious Physical Injuries and Serious Illegal Detention.  Among the three charges, Serious Illegal Detention is not bailable. But with the prompt action of Lee and Cornejo's camp, the issuance of the warrants of their arrest in Serious Illegal Detention Case was forestalled due to the timely motion for reconsideration....

The Vhong Navarro-Cedric Lee-Deniece Cornejo case has ramified and has become more complicated with the recent twist of their dramatic story.  Though, the camp of Lee and Cornejo has denied with the hands to help the alleged victim of rape committed by Vhong Navarro in the open but the we really do not know the whole truth about it.

With what has been happening to It's Showtime host and comedian actor Vhong Navarro, the term CITIZEN'S ARREST becomes a household term.  It is what has the camp of Cedric Lee, Deniece Cornejo and others done to Vhong Navarro.  The latter was arrested via citizen arrest because the former allegedly rape Deniece Cornejo.