MANILA, Philippines — Actress and beauty queen Michelle Dee has refiled a qualified theft complaint against the driver of actress Rhian Ramos and is preparing additional libel and perjury complaints after the driver accused Dee, Ramos, and their associates of assault and illegal detention.
Dee first filed the qualified theft complaint on Jan. 19, but the Office of the City Prosecutor in Makati dismissed it and recommended that it undergo regular preliminary investigation instead of inquest proceedings, according to their joint legal counsel, Atty. Maggie Abraham-Garduque.
Abraham-Garduque said Dee refiled the complaint on Jan. 30 and submitted photos of a red envelope containing photographs that the driver allegedly took.
The lawyer also said preparations are underway for libel and perjury complaints against the driver, identified by the alias “Totoy,” who accused Dee, Ramos, and beauty queen Samantha Panlilio of torturing and illegally detaining him.
“My clients just want to appeal to the public to not pre-judge them. Let us not believe mere allegations but assess if the allegations are true,” Abraham-Garduque said in a statement.
The lawyer questioned the driver’s credibility and cited his alleged admission to taking items belonging to Dee without her consent.
The driver denied possessing Dee’s missing item.
The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), through its president Arsenio “Boy” Evangelista, said the group has not received a copy of the refiled complaint but noted that filing a complaint is the right of the complainant.
Totoy has been under the care of the VACC since his release from detention by the Makati Police following the initial qualified theft complaint.
Evangelista said the group is vetting volunteer lawyers who will handle the driver’s defense and is awaiting the National Bureau of Investigation’s recommendation on possible charges.
In a complaint filed before the NBI, the driver accused Dee, Ramos, Panlilio, their bodyguards, and an assistant of physically assaulting him starting in the early hours of Jan. 17. He also alleged that Dee forced his hand to choke her and poked his eyes.
He said police brought him to the Makati station in One Ayala on Jan. 19, where he claimed two officers tortured him to admit taking the missing photographs.
Dee denied the allegation and said she was in Iloilo when the alleged assault occurred.
