Attempt of suspect in Vhong Navarro case to leave PHL may be a sign of guilt – lawyer

The lawyer of actor-TV host Vhong Navarro on Tuesday said the attempt of one of the personalities linked to the mauling of Navarro to leave the country may be an indication of guilt.

When asked by reporters if the attempt of suspect Ferdinand Guerrero to leave for Hong Kong on Monday is an indication of guilt, Atty. Dino Tamayo said: "Yeah, you can say that."

He added that he hopes that the suspects would submit themselves to the court after arrest warrants were issued against Cedric Lee, Deniece Cornejo, and several others, including Guerrero, for grave coercion charges in connection with the January 22 mauling incident.

Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 74 in Taguig City on Friday issued arrest warrants against Cedric Lee, Cornejo and five other suspects.

Sajed 'Jed' Fernandez Abuhijleh, one of the five other suspects, posted P12,000 bail on Tuesday morning for the said charges. 

"I just hope they submit themselves sa korte dahil mahirap magtago... But I'm not saying they are," Tamayo said.

An immigration officer at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 questioned Guerrero as he was about to board a Cebu Pacific flight to Hong Kong on Monday.

“Guerrero was referred to secondary inspection and was not cleared for departure upon coordination with concerned government agencies,” Atty. Elaine Tan, technical assistant at the office of Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Siegfred Mison, said in a statement.

After failing to catch his flight, Guerrero left the NAIA premises hurriedly. He was not arrested, the report said.

On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced it has filed serious illegal detention and grave coercion charges against Cornejo, Lee and others allegedly involved in Navarro's mauling. 

On Friday, the camp of Lee and Cornejo filed a motion for determination of probable cause before the Taguig RTC Branch 271, where the illegal detention charges were transmitted.

However, a resolution has yet to be issued, Tamayo said after the hearing on the motion on Tuesday. 

In a chance interview, Assistant State Prosecutor Marie Elvira Herrera said the motion has been submitted for resolution.

"Wala nang hearing," she said. She, however, declined to comment further.

A source from inside the court, who refused to be named, confirmed this, noting that a resolution may be issued after 10 working days. —KG, GMA News