Court denies bail to 5 Ramgen slay suspects

MANILA, Philippines - A Parañaque regional trial court has denied bail to Ramon Joseph Bautista and four other persons accused of murdering his brother, actor Ramgen Revilla, two years ago.

“In the prima facie assessment of the court, the prosecution’s evidence against accused Ramon Joseph Bautista, Ryan Pastera, Glaiza Visda, Norwin dela Cruz, and Michael Nartea is strong as to make said accused liable as principal in the killing of Ramgen on Oct. 28, 2011,” the Sept. 4 decision of Branch 274 Judge Fortunito Madrona read.

“However, again a reminder, this finding is not equivalent to the finding of guilt beyond reasonable doubt of the accused as that would be another story,” it added.

One of the accused, Roy Francis Tolisora, meanwhile, was allowed to post bail, set at P200,000, after the court found insufficient evidence against him.

Who’s who

Ramon Joseph and sister Ramona Bautista are alleged masterminds in the murder. The motive: Revilla reportedly physically abused his siblings.

Pastera, a close friend of Ramon Joseph, was reportedly tapped to hire Revilla’s killers.

Pastera allegedly sought the help of former couple Visda and Dela Cruz. The couple, for their part, reportedly hired neighbors Nartea and Tolisora.

The initial plan to kill Revilla, however, did not push through because Tolisora got scared and was replaced by Michael Puzon.

Puzon accepted the job allegedly worth P200,000. He, however, backed out and eventually became one of the four principal witnesses in the case. His testimony led to the identification of the seven accused.

Stabbed, shot

Revilla was stabbed and shot to death on Oct. 28, 2011. He was with girlfriend Janelle Manahan when the assassin barged inside his room. Manahan was shot in the face twice but survived.

Manahan was not able to identify their gunman because the latter wore a Halloween mask. She noted, however, that the gunman was able to enter Revilla’s room because of Ramona.

After the killing, Revilla’s assistant Ronaldo Ancajas and village security guard Nino Tabada said they saw Ramon Joseph and Ramona leave the house.

This was contrary to Ramona’s initial claim that she was kidnapped by her brother’s attackers. Ramona recanted her statement before flying to Turkey.

Ramona, who remains at large, is the subject of an Interpol alert.