Ramgen witness ‘in it for the money’

A lawyer for one of the suspects in the murder of actor Ramgen Revilla continued to chip away at the credibility of star witness Ruel Puzon as she accused him of testifying in the hopes of getting more money.

At the continuation of Puzon’s cross-examination in the Parañaque City Regional Trial Court Branch 274, Claire Castro, the counsel of accused Glaiza Visda, questioned him for about an hour Tuesday to test the consistency of his statements.

In particular, Castro asked Puzon if he knew where the P15,000 cash gift given to him shortly before Christmas by Parañaque police chief Senior Supt. Billy Beltran came from.

Puzon answered that the money was part of the bounty put up by authorities for witnesses who could provide any information leading to the arrest of the people behind Revilla’s killing.

Asked if he was expecting more money from the police, Puzon said yes, but only after the resolution of the case. He added, however, that he did not know how much he would be getting.

His replies prompted Castro to remark that Puzon was motivated by money.

“He’s just really doing all of this for the money. He testified that he [went along with the planning of Ramgen’s killing] to collect money from the other suspects so maybe, he is doing this just for the reward,” she said.

Speaking after the hearing, Castro told reporters that Puzon was an unreliable witness.

“At one point, he said he can’t be expected to remember everything. But if you’re a witness, you will remember what happened for the most part,” she added.

In court, Castro also questioned Puzon about Revilla’s photograph which he turned over to the court when he gave his direct testimony last month.

The photograph was supposedly given to him by Pastera to help him  identify the target.

“Did you not think of giving that photo to the police? And did the police not even bother to mark it as one of the [pieces of] evidence in the case?” Castro said.

In response, Puzon shook his head and said, “They asked me to keep it to show to this court one day.”

Revilla, the eldest son of former Senator Ramon Revilla Sr. with Genelyn Magsaysay, was shot dead by a masked assailant at the family residence in BF Homes, Parañaque City, on Oct. 28 last year. He was 23.

At least seven persons—including his sister, Ma. Ramona or Mara, who has since fled the country, and another sibling, Ramon Joseph (“RJ”), who was arrested and then detained—are accused of killing him.

They were also tagged in the wounding of Revilla’s girlfriend, Janelle Manahan, who was with him on the night the victim was killed. She was shot in the face although she survived the attack.