A Parañaque City court may resolve before the end of the year a motion filed by Ramon Joseph “RJ” Bautista, one of the suspected masterminds in the killing of his brother Ramgen, who is seeking to quash the murder and frustrated murder charges filed against him.
Judge Fortunito Madrona, of Parañaque City Regional Trial Court Branch 274, assured the parties on Thursday that he will try to resolve the issue before the start of the new year.
Lawyer Jeffrey Gepta told the Inquirer that Genelyn Magsaysay, RJ’s mother, together with RJ’s five other siblings, including Gail Furuyama who was recently implicated by Ramgen’s girlfriend Janelle Manahan in the crime, attended the hearing.
“The remaining members of the Bautista family were all there despite the allegations against them. We just have to wonder why they are made to suffer from allegations that this happened because of sibling rivalry,” Gepta said.
He added that the motion was deemed submitted for resolution on Thursday after the prosecution aired its comments on the motion and oral arguments were concluded.
Gepta maintained that RJ was illegally arrested and that his detention was unnecessary as he was innocent of the charges filed against him.
“He has been detained since Oct. 31, that is a month and a half. He is just 18 years old. He is a pitiful boy because he is being held for a crime he did not commit,” the lawyer stressed.
As for Gail’s reaction to her and her husband Hiro’s inclusion in the complaint, Gepta said: “She was very much surprised. Murder, we would expect, would be the last thing in the mind of a new mother.”