DENIECE CORNEJO and Cedric Lee have yet to be released despite a Court of Appeals decision ordering their release, as the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) is still waiting for the necessary court documents.
Cornejo and Lee were allowed to seek release on September 25, 2026, after the Court of Appeals reduced their sentences in the serious illegal detention for ransom case filed by actor and television host Vhong Navarro.
However, Navarro’s camp said it would pursue all available legal remedies to prevent the accused from being released.
“It is not true that the accused have been detained since 2014, which is the reason the Court of Appeals had ordered their immediate release,” Navarro’s lawyer said.
“But they have, in fact, been serving time in prison. Whether or not the period the accused have spent in incarceration is sufficient, considering the affirmance of their conviction, is a matter of law which everyone is bound to respect,” the lawyer added.
BuCor said it still needs to validate the court orders before Lee and Cornejo can be fully released. / TRC
