Manahan sues boyfriend’s mom, 4 siblings over sex video

Janelle Manahan, the girlfriend of slain actor Ramgen Bautista, formally filed charges on Tuesday against her boyfriend’s mother and siblings whom she believed were behind the uploading on the Internet of a video showing her and the victim having sex.

Accompanied by her lawyer Argee Guevarra, Manahan lodged a complaint for violations of Republic Act 9995, or the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009, against Bautista’s mother, Genelyn Magsaysay, his sisters Gail and Ma. Ramona and two other underage siblings.

In her complaint, Manahan asked the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, particularly its cybercrime division and women and children protection office, to find those responsible for the circulation online of the sex video.

“This video clip which was taken by Ramgen [Bautista] with the consent of our client while they were sharing very intimate moments together in the shower room was never intended to be seen by anyone else,” Guevarra said.

In a press briefing at the CIDG, the lawyer said the video first came into their attention when Manahan was alerted to it on Facebook.

Guevarra noted that Magsaysay admitted in a January 4 interview with ABS-CBN that the family was in possession of the laptop computer in which the video had been stored, contrary to her previous statement that it had been confiscated by the Parañaque police.

“Ms. Magsaysay even accused the PNP [Philippine National Police] of being responsible for circulating and uploading said video clip on the Internet,” he added.

According to Guevarra, the evidence points to “only one group of suspects [which] has access to the digital video and the motive to share it over the Internet to shame our client in the most sordid way.”

He said the intent was clearly to shake Manahan’s resolve to bring to justice Bautista’s killers.

In the briefing, CIDG deputy director for administration Senior Superintendent Christopher Laxa and Supt. Emma Libunao, chief of the CIDG Women and Children Protection Office, assured Manahan that they would get to the bottom of the matter and build an airtight case against the culprits.

Bautista was shot and stabbed to death by a masked assailant in their family’s house at BF Homes Parañaque in October. Manahan was with him and was also shot in the face by the lone gunman.