Court decision a vindication for Vhong

Vhong Navarro

There’s a lesson to be learned in every tragedy.

This was according to comedian-TV host Vhong Navarro, who said he felt vindicated after the Taguig City Metropolitan Trial Court last week ruled in favor of the grave coercion case he filed against three people in 2014.

For Vhong, the whole experience was a lesson in humility.

“Masyado akong naging bilib sa sarili ko. At the time it happened, I got too confident that I’d be able to get everything I wanted. That’s why God said I needed to be taught a lesson. He has humbled me,” he pointed out.

“These days, my prayer is always for Him to make sure my feet are planted firmly on the ground,” he added.

As to whether he already expected victory, the “It’s Showtime!” host said: “I need to play safe with the statements I give to the press, because I still have ongoing cases against them. I’ve learned to let go and simply trust in God. He made all these happen.”

The ruling penned by presiding judge Bernard Pineda Bernal stated that model Deniece Cornejo and businessmen Cedric Lee and Jed Fernandez were guilty of grave coercion and sentenced them to three years in prison.

They may still appeal for the court to reverse its decision.

Meanwhile, Deniece filed three rape complaints against Vhong, two of which were dismissed in 2014 and the third, in 2018.

Forgiveness

Vhong said he had come to a point where he was willing to forgive those who have wronged him.

“But, forgiveness should be given only to those who seek it. What’s sad is that these people still refuse to own up to their mistakes,” he declared. “Come to think of it, my offense was only to my girlfriend.”

The actor said he was on tour in the United States when he heard the good news.

“I couldn’t help but cry. I’ve prayed and waited for this moment for many years,” Vhong told reporters during the recent media gathering for his latest film, Miko Livelo’s “Unli Life,” which will be shown at the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino from Aug. 15 to 21.

If Vhong would be given an “unlimited number of lives,” just like his character in the movie, would he have chosen to erase the incident? Vhong replied: “It’s hard to change something that was destined to happen. It was supposed to teach me something, and it did.”

The actor said he was grateful that the experience did not affect his show biz career.

“I was concerned in the beginning, but I felt reassured by the people’s warm reaction toward me. I’m lucky because my supporters chose to stay, not abandon me,” he pointed out. “I will keep doing what I do for as long as there are still people who appreciate me.”

Vhong had never considered quitting work despite the death threats he and his family allegedly received.

This, however, affected his performances.

Anxiety

“Doing a live show became really difficult,” Vhong said. “It’s different when you’re acting in a film—you follow a script and become your character. But in ‘It’s Showtime!’ you see the real me.”

“If I see people laughing at my jokes and antics, the anxiety disappears for a short while. After the show, the emotion comes rushing back,” he added.

To cope with the problem, Vhong attended several sessions with a psychiatrist in 2014.

Vhong said that 2017 was also traumatic, with the death of his father.

“I thought 2014 was the worst, but God still wasn’t done with me. He probably thought I still needed to experience this to strengthen my faith some more,” he said. “I’m not pretending to be holy, but the experience only encouraged me to pray harder. You have nothing to lose and more to gain when you pray to Him.”