As the eldest in a brood of nine, Ramgen Bautista kept his siblings in check and sometimes got physical to make sure they toed the line.
This was the gist of a six-page affidavit filed by Janelle Manahan, Ramgen’s girlfriend, in absentia in the Parañaque City Prosecutor’s Office on Friday.
Manahan said she witnessed some of these violent encounters since she lived for the past five years in the Bautista residence at BF Homes in Parañaque City where Ramgen was murdered on Oct. 28.
Her account sought to refute allegations of Ramgen’s sister, Mara, that the siblings did not have any rivalry or a brewing feud among them, her lawyers said.
Restituto Mendoza, Manahan’s counsel, said Janelle’s account would provide authorities a clear picture of the murder of Ramgen, a son of former Senator Ramon Revilla Sr.
“This isn’t a simple case of a family feud. These are a series of incidents that our client witnessed first-hand,” Mendoza told reporters. “Her affidavit confirms the deep family rift, and establishes the motive for the siblings to conspire with each other.”
Mendoza and another lawyer, Ray Gilbert Espinosa, presented Manahan’s affidavit in court, explaining that their client could not make it as she was still unwell. Janelle was discharged from the hospital early this week.
Disciplinarian
According to Manahan’s affidavit, Ramgen was “admittedly strict with his younger siblings as he had early on assumed the responsibility of disciplining his younger siblings like a father would.”
With their father’s absence in the day-to-day management of the house, Ramgen took over the chores from their mother Genelyn Magsaysay, whom Manahan said had been diagnosed as “schizophrenic.”
She recalled that there were instances when Ramgen used force to discipline his younger siblings. In one instance, he hit Ma. Ramona (Mara) with his 9MM pistol, which he also pointed at her Turkish husband during another incident when the siblings quarreled.
Manahan described Ma. Ragelyn (Gail) as “the blacksheep of the family” who would often incur the ire of Ramgen when she partied often into the early hours of the morning.
She also described Gail as “strong-willed” who often ended up fighting with Ramgen whenever she challenged her brother’s authority over them.
She recalled one instance when Ramgen tried to choke Gail after a heated argument.
As for Ramon Joseph, Manahan said he usually yielded to his elder brother’s scolding and “stayed quiet in submission unlike his other brother who would challenge Ramgen and disrespect him.”
Ramon Joseph’s fondness for expensive gadgets purchased through the family’s credit card always got Ramgen’s ire because it strained the family’s finances, according to Manahan.
Recollection
“Other than that, Ramgen would also bully Joseph and tease him as gay for being soft-spoken and quiet,” she added.
Manahan also detailed her recollection of the shooting where she was severely injured.
The last person to enter Ramgen’s room before a masked gunman began shooting them was Mara, who was asking for a video the family was making for their brother Ramram, a cadet at the Philippine Military Academy, according to Manahan.
Sitting at the foot of Ramgen’s bed, Manahan said she felt something hit her right shoulder. When she sat upright, she looked up and saw the gunman in a green army jacket pointing a gun to her face.
She described the panic Mara appeared to be caught in as she (Mara) called up Gail to tell her what happened.
“What struck me was Gail’s simple response, ‘oh sige pupunta na kami dyan,’” Manahan said, adding that she was able to hear snatches of the conversation between the two.
She also recalled that Ramgen was still alive as both of them were brought to the hospital, from the eye contact they maintained while being transported to the medical facility.
At the hospital, she was met by Gail, her husband Hiro Furuyama, and Ragene, another Bautista sibling, who told her that Mara was already missing. The three were accompanied by a family friend, a certain Shaw, who Manahan said lived nearby.
“Only Shaw was grieving and crying while the rest were not,” she recalled. “I also saw RJ later at the hospital. He also did not appear to be grieving.”