'CHARACTER ASSASSINATION'. Roxanne Acosta's camp says the case is not a 'public affair'. Screengrab from YouTube (GMA News)
MANILA, Philippines – Around two weeks after actor Vhong Navarro filed a perjury case against his alleged rape victim
Roxanne Acosta, her legal counsel Virgilio Batalla said Navarro's camp
had turned to “character assassination” in fighting their legal battle.
In an interview with Buzz ng Bayan on Sunday, March 16,
Batalla said that the actions of Navarro’s camp have undermined his
client's character. According to Batalla, they were also “misleading the
public by inculcating to the mind of the public that the crime of rape
happened on the 24th.”
With this, Navarro’s camp was able to “establish a very good defense of alibi,” said Batalla, referring to Navarro’s counter-affidavit saying
the comedian was a performer in a concert on the night of April 24.
April 24, 2010 was reportedly the date of the alleged rape, according
to initial reports by media organizations and an unconfirmed copy of
Acosta's complaint affidavit posted by journalist Tony Calvento on Facebook. Acosta's camp, however, vehemently denied specifying any date of the alleged incident.
On March 13, a preliminary investigation was held at the Pasig Regional Trial Court, reported Pep.ph.
There, Acosta herself, told several news outlets that she and Navarro
met on April 24, but she does not remember the exact date of the alleged
rape.
“Very ano, e... The incident is very horrifying, so ibinabaon ko siya sa limot. (I buried it in my memory) And I don’t have a time to find justice then, it’s hard to relive it,” she told the press.
According to Batalla, the alleged sexual assault happened "during the time of April 24 to 27."
'Walang nangyari kahit kailan'
According to ABS-CBN Push,
Navarro’s legal counsel Alma Mallonga said that "April 24, 2010” was
clearly stated as the date of the alleged rape on the investigation data
form, a part of the complaint affidavit submitted by Acosta’s camp
under oath. This, she said, was the reason for the perjury case filed
against Acosta submitted March 6.
According to the report, Acosta’s camp did not submit a
counter-affidavit, but through submitting a manifestation, they
clarified that that they did not mention the exact date in their
complaint. According to Mallonga, a manifestation is a written document
meant to inform the court, but is not sworn to.
“April 24 malinaw na malinaw, place of commission, Astoria, Pasig. So kung anuman ang manifestation na nakalagay wala pong kahalagahan yun sa maling opinion. So given that, napaka-klaro na walang nangyari nung April 24 at walang nangyari kahit kailan.”
(April 24 is very, very clear. Place of commission, Astoria, Pasig. So
whatever is written on their manifestation doesn't matter. Given that,
it's very clear that nothing happened on April 24 or any other date)
For this reason, Mallonga said she is confident that the case will be dismissed.
'Public document' and 'private affair'
On February 20, a day after Acosta’s rape case was filed to the Pasig
Prosecutor's Office, Calvento posted what he described as a “faithful
reproduction” of Acosta’s complaint affidavit against Navarro. In the Buzz ng Bayan
interview, Acosta and Batalla called the journalist out for publishing
the document, although they made no comment on the authenticity of the
affidavit.
“Calvento should not meddle with this case,” said Batalla. “He is not
the counsel of Vhong. He is not a counsel of my client, he is not even a
prosecutor. Calvento should stop, this is not a public affair, it’s
private.”
Acosta said Calvento’s act of publishing her complaint affidavit was disrespectful. “Binastos niya ang statement ko.” (He disrespected my statement.)
In the same episode, Calvento reacted, claiming his actions were part
of his work, which he had been doing for over 2 decades. According to
him, Navarro’s current legal counsel Alma Mallonga, Navarro’s former
lawyer Dennis Manalo, and Navarro’s manager Chito Roño asked for his
“assistance.”
“Si Atty. Batalla, eh ngayon ko lang narinig yang pangalan na yan. Sino siya para sabihing tumigil ako?” said Calvento, who once hosted the now defuct crime and investigative show Calvento Files on ABS-CBN. (I have only heard of Atty Batalla’s name now. Who is he to tell me to stop.”
Calvento denied being an “irresponisble” journalist, saying he even
withheld Acosta’s name in the affidavit, which, according to him, "is a
public document after she has sworn."
“I withheld her name, kapag rape victim ang pinaguusapan, hindi
mo binabanggit ang pangalan, ni hindi mo nga pinapakita ang mukha, pero
sino ba ang lumabas at nagpainterview? “ (I withheld her name. When
talking about rape victims, you don’t say their name or even show their
face, but who was the one who did an interview?)
The case goes on
Acosta’s case is one of two rape cases faced by Navarro. On January
29, model Deniece Cornejo filed a rape case against the actor for an
alleged sexual assault on January 22, the night of a controversial
incident which left Navarro severely injured.
According to Navarro, he was beat-up and threatened and was a victim of extorion by Cornejo, Lee and company. Meanwhile, Cornejo's camp said he sustained his injuries after Lee and company caught him attempting to rape Cornejo.
Around a month after, Cornejo revealed through a counter-affidavit that she was also raped by Navarro on the night of January 17.
Navarro’s camp filed separate perjury cases against Acosta and Cornejo and company on March 6.
Aside from the perjury case, Cornejo and Lee’s camp is also facing
charges for serious illegal detention, serious physical injuries, grave
threats, grave coercion, unlawful arrest, and blackmail filed by the National Bureau of Investigation. – Rappler.com
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