Woman's body found stuffed in drum actress' sister?

MANILA, Philippines – The body of a woman, believed to be that of the missing sister of actress Rochel Barrameda, was fished out by operatives of the National Capital Regional Police Office in the seawaters of Navotas yesterday.

NCRPO director Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales said his men used heavy- duty equipment in pulling out the body, which was cemented inside a drum and placed inside a steel plate apparently to prevent it from surfacing.

“It took my men several hours to fish out of the murky waters the steel plate and the drum full of cement,” said Rosales in an interview.

The NCRPO director said elements of the crime laboratory of the Philippine National Police in Camp Crame are presently in the process of identifying the body.

Barrameda and her family were summoned to help crime laboratory director Chief Superintendent Arturo Cacdac in identifying the recovered corpse.

Rosales said an informant walked into his office and revealed that he is one of the lesser players in the murder of Barrameda’s sister, Ruby Jimenez.

Accompanied by the informant, an NCRPO team headed by Superintendent Leo Francisco, of the Regional Police Intelligence and Operation Unit (RPIOU) conducted a two -week search off the seawaters in Navotas until they were able to pinpoint the site. Using a forklift and other heavy equipment, elements of the NCRPO’s search and rescue unit salvaged the steel plate yesterday and loaded it into a truck for a trip to Camp Crame.

Missing years back

“The salvaged steel and drum of cement weighed at least two tons,” said Francisco in a telephone interview.

Jimenez was reported missing years back.

Barrameda sought the help of the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and spearheaded a massive information drive for her safe recovery but succeeding operations failed to locate her.

“The mother will try to identify the body. If the body could not be identified physically, then we will try the odontological examination or DNA,” said Cacdac.

Barrameda’s sister Rubyrose, 26, went missing in March 2007 and was last seen driving her Mitsubishi Galant (PNS-715) from their residence in Moonwalk Village in Las Piñas City en route to an undisclosed bank for a transaction.

Records indicated that she was on her way to visit her two children with her estranged husband at the latter’s residence in BF Executive Village, also in Las Piñas City. Jimenez secured the custody of their children since their separation.

“The suspect escorted elements of the NCRPO-SOG to where the drum was dumped,” said Cacdac.

The crime lab director noted that the drum was wrapped up with steel and the drum was filled with concrete cement, making it hard to take the body from the concrete cement.

“Mabilis lang sana yung proceso ng identification, pero ang mahirap ay ang pag alis ng katawan mula sa drum na puno ng matigas na semento,” said Cacdac in a telephone interview.

Cacdac said forensic experts will do everything to preserve the evidence.

After the identification, police will then try to locate the perpetrators and the mastermind of the crime.