Doctor testifies that Vhong Navarro was seriously injured in Jan. 22 beating

Lawyers of television host and actor Vhong Navarro on Tuesday presented an expert witness who testified that Navarro was seriously injured after being mauled last January 22 by a group which included model Deniece Cornejo and businessman Cedric Lee.

During a hearing at the Taguig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 271, witness Dr. Kurt Delavino, who performed reconstructive surgery on Navarro's broken nose, said his patient's injuries were so severe that they would not have healed properly without surgery.

Delavino also presented photos and CT scans of Navarro's injuries.

An earlier medico-legal report issued by the St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig, where Navarro was confined after the incident, said that the actor had facial fractures, contusions, a deformity of the nasal bridge and leg abrasions.

“On the basis of the diagnosis, the injuries that were sustained and the treatment that Vhong Navarro received, you can say or you can conclude that he suffered serious physical injuries,” Navarro's lawyer, Alma Mallonga, said in a report on GMA News' “24 Oras” Tuesday.



Tuesday's hearing was the second that dealt with the bail petition of Cornejo, Lee and Simeon “Zimmer” Raz, all of whom are charged with serious illegal detention over the alleged mauling incident.

A serious illegal detention charge is a non-bailable case. But the suspects filed a bail petition, nevertheless.

Navarro was not present for the hearing but was represented by Mallonga. Cornejo, Lee and Raz were all present.

Accoring to “24 Oras” report, Cornejo's counsel questioned Delavino's testimony during the hearing, arguing that the doctor could not prove that the Navarro's injuries were life threatening.

Cornejo's lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, however, would to talk about what happened during the hearing. “Hindi yata ako pwede magsalita tungkol dyan dahil may gag order, eh. Muntik na ako madulas, baka makulong ako,” Topacio explained.

Last Friday, during the first hearing on the Cornejo, Lee and Raz' bail petition, Navarro took the witness stand and recounted his version of the January 22 incident.

Alleged bathroom confrontation

Meanwhile, Cornejo's grandmother, Florencia, filed a grave coercion case against Mallonga before the Taguig City Prosecutor's Office.

On Friday, the elder Cornejo claimed that Mallonga harassed her after seeing her wearing a t-shirt with said “Justice for Deniece, jail the rapist.” The elder Cornejo said Mallonga grabbed her by the shoulders, shook her and demanded that she remove the shirt. The incident allegedly happened in a public bathroom near the Taguig RTC Branch 271 courtroom.

“Very stressed ako, dalawang araw ako nahiga, hindi ako nakatulog,” the elder Cornejo said. She said she was also planning to file a disbarment case against Mallonga.

Mallonga, meanwhile, denied the allegation and said she was willing to face the elder Cornejo in court.

“I can categorically say hindi ko po tinulak si lola, hindi ko siya hinablot, hindi ko siya niyugyog,” Mallonga said. — Elizabeth Marcelo/DVM, GMA News