Statements of drivers, maid could help solve Ramos slay case — police

Two drivers and a longtime household helper of the Ramos family may hold the key that will unlock the murder case of senior diplomat Alicia Ramos, police said yesterday.

Mervin Ordiales, 25, and Danilo Borres, 44, both of whom drove for Ramos, have executed sworn statements, according to Chief Inspector Manny Santos, chief of criminal investigation division of the Makati City police.

The female housemaid has yet to be identified and has been uncooperative with investigators, Santos said.

Nonetheless, all three could play vital roles in the investigation of the robbery-homicide case, he noted.

Makati police homicide division chief Senior Inspector Gary Reyes said the three are considered to be witnesses for now while the investigation is ongoing.

Ordiales, a resident of Libis, Quezon City and a driver directly employed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), had been driving for Ramos for three years.

He said he drove for the former ambassador, who was strangled to death last Sunday by suspected robbers in her house in Makati City, Mondays to Fridays and on holidays or special trips.

But last Friday, Ordiales was unavailable for an unknown reason, and Borres was hired to drive for Ramos.

Borres, of Car World rent-a-car service, said the DFA hires them to drive secretaries and undersecretaries of the DFA. It was the first time that he drove for the 64-year-old assistant secretary of the office of Asia Pacific affairs.

Ordiales and Borres have both been cooperative with investigators so far, the Makati police said.

Santos said the third new witness had been working for the Ramos family for several years although she is not a live-in helper. Police have yet to question the housemaid as she refuses to speak with probers.

The same goes for Ramos’ younger sister, Leticia Ramos, who managed to escape from their house in Barangay Palanan in Makati City when the incident took place.

The 61-year-old Leticia has yet to give a statement to police detailing what happened on that fateful morning. She has requested privacy for now.

Leticia is being treated as the "primary witness" in the case, according to Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Superintendent Wilfredo Garcia.

Investigators have so far drawn a blank in the robbery-homicide case and are turning to neighbors for any additional information.

SPD probers who interviewed the neighbors said they claimed to have not seen any suspicious men lurking around the area when the murder happened.

Instead, they heard the voices of two women quarreling, Garcia said.

"The witnesses who were awake at the time heard loud noises from two women inside the room (who) appeared to have been quarreling. Other witnesses revealed they had not seen anybody loitering outside the residence," he said.

Garcia further divulged that Leticia went to the nearby St. Claire medical clinic to have her scratches and cuts treated.

"It was when Leticia was undergoing medical treatment at the clinic (that the) guards learned that they were robbed. The security guard then escorted her to the police and later checked the house and found Alicia’s body," the SPD chief said.

Garcia admitted it "may appear unusual" that Leticia did not go to the police first.

"Perhaps (because) of the shock and the first reaction was to go to the hospital where she reported the incident," he said.

Leticia was reportedly preparing to go to church when three men entered the house and hog-tied her before proceeding to the second floor. She was then said to have escaped and showed up at Makati’s Palanan police station one and a half hours later.

Leticia is expected to give her sworn statement after Ramos’ burial scheduled on Thursday at the Seventh Fleet Cemetery in Rosario, Cavite.

The Scene of the Crime Office (SOCO) team has submitted all specimen samples collected from the crime scene to the crime laboratory. Results of examination are expected today.

Garcia said they had not been able to lift any fingerprints "due to the very dusty condition of the (crime) scene."

"We took sample tissues from the two women’s fingernails for examination," Garcia said.

Initial investigation revealed the victims struggled with the alleged robbers and may have managed to scratch some skin off them.

On the other hand, SPD police are also looking into the possibility that no burglary took place in the absence of evidence of forcible entry into the house on No. 5552 Boyle st. in Barangay Palanan, Makati.

Ramos’ body was found inside her room on the second floor with a towel tightly wound around her neck. She also sustained lacerations and injuries indicative of a struggle, and had traces of masking tape around her mouth.

Doctors said she died of suffocation.

Ramos’ remains now lie at the Loyola Memorial Chapel in Guadalupe, Makati City. The DFA will hold funeral services this afternoon with DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo leading officials and personnel in paying their final respects to the slain diplomat.

A Mass will be celebrated at around 8 a.m. on Thursday before the burial.

Makati police investigators are working closely with other police groups under a task force created specifically to handle the Ramos robbery-slay case.

National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Avelino Razon Jr. formed the task force the same day the crime occurred.

The National Bureau of Investigation will also conduct a separate probe.

Romulo said President Arroyo has given the task force three days to complete its investigation of the case. — With Pia Lee-Brago