MANILA, Philippines – Lawyers for Janelle Manahan, the girlfriend of slain actor Ram Revilla (Ramgen Bautista in real life), submitted their client’s reply affidavit before the Parañaque City Prosecutor’s Office on Friday.
According to Manahan’s lawyers, Ram’s was a strict disciplinarian who had incidents of physical and verbal clashes with his siblings. They said these could be possible motives for the murder.
"Ramgen is a strict disciplinarian who at some point during several confrontations with some of the brothers and sisters had hit, sinaktan, tinutukan, sinakal ang mga kapatid, which would establish motive for the siblings to have conspired to kill him,” said Atty. Restituto Mendoza. Ram was killed inside their home in BF Homes, Parañaque last October 28.
In her affidavit, Manahan said that in her 5-year relationship with Ram, she witnessed several incidents of violence in the Bautista household. Ram is the oldest of 9 children of former Senator Ramon Revilla Sr. with Genelyn Magsaysay.
Physical abuse
Manahan, in her affidavit, recalled that Ram once hit her sister Ramona “Mara” Bautista, one of the suspects in the murder, with a Glock 9mm handgun.
There was also an incident involving Ram and Ramona’s Turkish husband, which led to a rift between Ramona and Ram. “After Ramona got married to his Turkish boyfriend, Ram also had a tiff with her husband,” Manahan stated.
Ram’s other sister Ragelyn “Gail” Bautista, who was also tagged by suspects as one of the masterminds, was described in Manahan’s statement as a “black sheep” and was always at odds with Ram. Gail was once choked by Ram during a heated argument, according to Manahan.
Argument over budget
The 18-year-old Ramon Joseph or “RJ”, who is currently detained at the Parañaque City Jail, was described as a “timid soft spoken brother” who was submissive to his oldest brother.
However, Manahan said in her statement that Ram and RJ also had arguments involving expensive purchases that would strain the family’s budget. Several text messages were earlier recovered by police, showing that the siblings argued over the allowance from their father. Ram had also punched RJ once, said Manahan.
The night of Ram's murder
In her affidavit, Manahan reiterated that she did not see the lone gunman’s face because it was covered with a Halloween mask. She said the gunman shot her using a pistol with a silencer.
Manahan said she instructed Ramona to call for help because they could not find Ram’s car keys. Ramona tried contacting RJ first but he was not answering. Manahan then told Ramona to call Gail, who lived nearby.
Manahan, who was struggling to stay conscious, said she “did not notice any panic or worry” in Gail's voice during her phone conversation with Ramona. Ramona told her that Gail was on the way and left the room. However, Gail never arrived, prompting Manahan to send a text message to her mother and some friends to ask for help. When she was brought to the hospital, Manahan said she saw Gail, Gail’s husband Hiro, Ram’s sister Ragene and Ragene’s friend.
Manahan noted that only Ragene’s friend was “grieving while the rest did not.” Ramona was allegedly missing at that time. RJ also arrived at the hospital and he “did not appear to be grieving,” according to Manahan.
Manahan failed to submit her affidavit personally because she was not feeling well. She will undergo a preliminary investigation on December 13. She was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday, after she received treatment for gunshot wounds to the face.
Ramona tags Ram's assistant
Meanwhile, the lawyer for Ramona, a suspect in the murder of her brother and frustrated murder of Manahan, also submitted Ramona’s sworn statement before the Parañaque City Prosecutor’s Office on Friday. In her statement, Ramona denied allegations that she was involved in her brother’s murder.
Ramona tagged Ram’s personal assistant Ronald Ancajas as the only person she knows capable of committing the crime. Ramona also revealed that an unidentified person called up RJ and informed him that Janelle had already been brought to the hospital. The original copy of Ramona’s counter-affidavit was submitted to Assistant City Prosecutor Leah Roma a week after Ramona’s camp submitted a photocopy of the statement.
Ramona’s counsel Atty. Jeffrey Hepte was accompanied by Ramona’s mother Genelyn Magsaysay and 4 other siblings. Ramona attested to the statement before Philippine consul Leilani Feliciano in Ankara, Turkey last November 16. Ramona left the Philippines last November 4, after she was named a suspect in the crime.
Source: ABS-CBN News
