Acosta rape case witness speaks out on Twitter

MANILA, Philippines – Rhoanne Aguilar, the woman previously said to have been set to testify in favor of Vhong Navarro’s alleged rape victim Roxanne Acosta, has come out on Twitter to say that she has no full knowledge of what transpired between Navarro and Acosta.  

Aguilar was a fellow candidate at the beauty pageant that Acosta had joined in 2010. Previous reports said that she had spoken to Acosta after the alleged rape occurred in April of 2010, while the pageant season was ongoing.  

Aguilar’s lawyer, Adel Reyes, said on February 24 that Aguilar is “a witness of the prosecution (Cabañero),” as reported by TV Patrol. 

However, a series of tweets sent from her Twitter account on February 25 appeared to assert that she did not know what fully transpired between Navarro and Acosta. 

In the tweets, Aguilar said that she and Roxanne were not close friends and that they did not spend a lot of time together. She clarified that she didn’t know what happened, saying that it was between “Vhong & Roxanne.”  

She said that on the night of the alleged rape, she was at the lobby of Millenia Suites, which she identified as the hotel they were staying in – not Astoria Plaza. She saw Roxanne enter, they exchanged hellos, and “that’s it.” 

She added that she did not see Acosta go in or out of any car, and concluded that was all of her personal knowledge about the event. 

Below are her tweets: 

5; This is the limit of my personal knowledge about this event…

— Rose Ann Uy Aguilar (@rhoanneaguilar) February 25, 2014

4; I did not see her enter any car or disembark from any vehicle. I just saw her enter the hotel on that night…..

— Rose Ann Uy Aguilar (@rhoanneaguilar) February 25, 2014

3; Hotel and I saw Roxanne enter the hotel. We said hello to each other and that is it…..

— Rose Ann Uy Aguilar (@rhoanneaguilar) February 25, 2014

2; we just joined the same pageant together. On the night of the alleged rape, I was at the lobby of Millenia Suites……

— Rose Ann Uy Aguilar (@rhoanneaguilar) February 25, 2014

1; I did not see Vhong and Roxanne together on the day of the allaged rape. I dont know Roxanne personally,……

— Rose Ann Uy Aguilar (@rhoanneaguilar) February 25, 2014

To everyone who's asking what hotel. Its not Astoria. Its Millenia Suites.

— Rose Ann Uy Aguilar (@rhoanneaguilar) February 24, 2014

Part 4: the hotel at that time.. I dont know if something happened at all…

— Rose Ann Uy Aguilar (@rhoanneaguilar) February 24, 2014

Part 3: It just so happened the alleged incident happpened during the competition and it just so happened that I was outside…,,

— Rose Ann Uy Aguilar (@rhoanneaguilar) February 24, 2014

Part 2: and I just met her during the competition, we don't even communicate. I don't have her number and she doesn't have my number either.

— Rose Ann Uy Aguilar (@rhoanneaguilar) February 24, 2014

Part 5: I dont know if something happened at all. It's between Vhong & Roxanne.

— Rose Ann Uy Aguilar (@rhoanneaguilar) February 24, 2014

Part 1: Just to clarify things. Roxanne and I, we're not friends "friends" and We dont hang out at all, I dont know anything about her……

— Rose Ann Uy Aguilar (@rhoanneaguilar) February 24, 2014

This came the day before comedian Vice Ganda pledged to support his Showtime colleague Vhong Navarro by swearing that Navarro was with him on the night of the alleged rape (April 24, 2010), also the night of a concert that he says they both attended out of town. 

April 24 is the date of the rape reported on the unconfirmed affidavit uploaded by veteran police columnist Tony Calvento on Facebook.

Roxanne Acosta’s rape case against Navarro comes around a month after a controversial incident on January 22 involving the actor, model Deniece Cornejo, businessman Cedric Lee, and company. 

According to Navarro, he was a victim of extortion and was mauled and threatened in Cornejo’s Forbeswood condominium. Meanwhile, Cornejo and company said the actor was beat-up by Lee and Cornejo’s friends when they caught him attempting to rape Cornejo. 

Cornejo filed a rape case against Navarro on January 29, but in recent developments, it was revealed that Navarro allegedly raped Cornejo twice, the first time on January 17 and the second time on their January 22. Cornejo’s legal counsel Howard Calleja recenty told Rappler that they have yet to see whether their camp will file a second rape case against the actor.

According to Acosta, news regarding Cornejo “inspired” her to come forward, 4 years after the alleged rape happened, but she denied any connection to their camp. – Rappler.com