Vice Ganda and Vhong Navarro. Image: screengrab from YouTube/ABS-CBN Entertainment, Instagram/@vhongx44
Vhong Navarro is sure to return to “It’s Showtime,” and it’s only a matter of time, according to his cohost in the Kapamilya noontime variety show.
However, Vice Ganda said, fans should allow Navarro to spend quality time with his family for the moment, as he had just spent several weeks away from them while incarcerated at the Taguig dormitory of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology due to his pending rape case.
Vice Ganda spoke about this after he and Anne Curtis recounted a card game they played with Navarro, during an episode of the show last Saturday, Dec. 17.
“Gusto niyo bang malaman kung kailan babalik si Vhong?” Vice Ganda asked, eliciting cheers from the audience. “Pwes, gusto rin naming malaman.” (Do you want to know when Vhong Navarro will return [to the show]? Actually, we want to know as well.)
Vice Ganda then claimed that Navarro’s managers would be in the best position to answer queries as to when he would return to the show. But he said that people should let the actor-comedian take the time off and be with his family.
“‘Pag may presscon ako, laging ang tanong ay, ‘Kailan ba babalik si Vhong?’ So sa lahat po ng nagtatanong sa akin, isang sagutan na lang po,” Vice Ganda said.
(Whenever I attend a press conference, they always ask me, “When will Vhong return to ‘It’s Showtime’]?” So to everyone who has been asking me, I’ll answer this once and for all.)
“Una, hindi po ako ang manager ni Vhong so hindi ako ang megde-decide kung kailang siya babalik. Pangalawa, pagpahingahin muna natin siya. Kailangan niyang magpahinga,” he continued. “Pangatlo, babalik siya… He promised to come back.”
(First, I am not Vhong’s manager so I am not the one who will decide when he will return to the show. Second, let him take a rest. He needs to rest. Third, he will come back. He promised to come back.)
Earlier this month, the Taguig regional trial court granted Navarro’s motion to post bail, which was set to P1 million, for his temporary liberty. The Taguig court stated that it is “not convinced at this time” of the presumption of guilt on the part of Navarro based on allegations by Cornejo. It also cited inconsistencies on the part of Cornejo in narrating how the alleged rape transpired.
On Dec. 6, a day after the motion was granted, Navarro immediately posted bail and walked free, albeit provisionally, from his detention cell. EDV