MANILA, Philippines - The Las Piñas City police is set to conduct an investigation into the alleged abduction of Ramona Bautista by the men who killed her brother, Ram Revilla (real name Ramgen Bautista), and shot his girlfriend in their home in Parañaque City last Oct. 29.
Ramona has since reversed her story, telling ANC’s Dateline Philippines that she lied about being abducted because because she was ashamed about leaving Ram and Janelle Manahan, who survived the attack.
Senior Superintendent Romulo Sapitula, Las Piñas police chief, told The STAR they will coordinate with the Parañaque police on the statements made by Ramona, 22, who has been charged with her brother’s murder along with another sibling, 18-year-old Joseph Bautista.
He said they are looking into the possibility of filing a criminal case against Ramona for submitting a false report.
Kidnap me
In a one-page statement she made before the police, Ramona said at about midnight, she went to her brother’s room to get a video they wanted to share when two men, one of them wearing a Halloween mask, suddenly appeared and shot Ram and Janelle.
She said the attackers dragged her into a waiting van and left her near a mall in Las Piñas. Sapitula said Ramona told security guard Marlon Bacalando that she was abducted by armed men who killed her brother.
The guard called the police, who brought Ramona to the station for investigation. Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. fetched his half-sister from the station and took her to a hospital for a checkup. The police said at the time the senator took Ramona, she was not yet a suspect.
The senator’s camp is silent on Ramona’s new story.
Ram sustained a lone gun shot wound in the chest and sustained several stab wounds on his arms – a sign that he tried to fight for his life, a police source said.
Ramona told ANC in a telephone interview that after the attack, she tried to revive Ram and help Jannelle. She said she asked Jannelle for Ram’s car keys so she could drive her to the nearest hospital, but the woman was no longer talking.
Ramona said she ran out of the house and called another sibling, who arrived in a car and picked her up.
Fearing for her life, she said she ran out of the house and called for another sibling who arrived by car and drove her away.
Two against one
Janelle and Ram’s personal assistant, Ronald Ancajas, disputed Ramona’s initial story.
Janelle said Ramona stayed in the room for about five to 10 minutes. She even asked Ramona to call an ambulance but the latter did not come back.
Ancajas and two security guards also saw Ramona walking away from the house about 11 p.m.
“I woke up and when I looked out the window, I saw Joseph walking out the subdivision gate. After a few minutes, Mara (Ramona’s nickname) followed. I thought they were going to Baguio because they were supposed to go there,” he said.
The slain actor’s mother, Genelyn Magsaysay, and some of her children went to Baguio to attend an event at the Philippine Military Academy, where her son Ram-ram is studying.
She has earlier expressed apprehensions on the police findings, saying her children were not raised to kill each other. The Parañaque City police said it will stand firm on its findings.
‘Impossible crime’
Ancajas described the crime as “nakakapagtaka (perplexing).”
He said it would have been impossible for the attacker to barge in had Ramona not entered first.
Ram “was strict. He doesn’t open the door if he doesn’t know you. He would call me to check who is outside his door,” Ancajas said.
He added that only female house helpers are allowed to visit the family’s rooms. “Males are forbidden upstairs,” he said.
Ancajas said he fears for his life, adding that he has much more to tell about the relationships between the siblings – but in court. – With Christina Mendez