Actor Vhong Navarro on Monday was transferred from the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Manila to the Taguig City Jail where he'll stay during the pendency of his rape case.
Navarro had been fighting his transfer from the NBI where he had been detained since September following the reinstatement of the rape complaint against him by model Deniece Cornejo.
In wanting to remain at the NBI, the actor said he fears for his safety and his life, citing an anonymous text message to his wife warning that some people are waiting for him at the Taguig City Jail.
"Tell your rapist husband, Mr. Suave, we're waiting for him here in Taguig, so fast-track (the transfer)," the message, originally in Filipino, read.
But Judge Loralie Datahan of the Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 69 denied Navarro's plea to stay at the NBI, saying he failed to justify his opposition to the transfer.
Navarro did not provide the court proof of the purported threatening text message, and that the message can be interpreted many ways, the judge said.
She added that the city jail is tasked to protect detainees, including Navarro.
Last week, the NBI said it has received an order from the court committing Navarro to the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, specifically to the Taguig City Jail in Camp Bagong Diwa.
The case stemmed from an incident in 2014 during which Cornejo claimed Navarro raped her.
Navarro has filed counter -charges against Cornejo and businessman Cedric Lee who, he claimed, led a group that beat him up to force him to confess to raping the model.
The Department of Justice twice junked Cornejo's rape complaint against Navarro, but the Court of Appeals had the case reinstated, saying a court should be allowed to rule on who between Navarro and Cornejo is telling the truth.
