Ram Revilla’s girlfriend may lead police to killers’ identities

The police are relying on the girlfriend of Ramgen Jose Bautista to provide them with the information they need to identify and arrest the men who killed him on Friday night inside his family’s house on President Avenue in BF Homes, Parañaque City.

The victim’s girlfriend, Janelle Ann Caren Manahan, was with Bautista—who also went by the screen name Ram Revilla—when he was killed.

Critical to stable

She was shot in the jaw and stabbed twice in the chest but she survived the attack. From critical, her condition has been upgraded to stable by doctors at Asian Hospital and Medical Center.

Parañaque Police chief Senior Superintendent Billy Beltran said that investigators had yet to talk to Manahan.

“Her physicians need to run some more tests on her,” Beltran told the Inquirer over the phone Sunday.

“We need her account to help us piece together what happened… Right now, there are still missing elements,” he added.

Bautista—the son of former Senator Ramon Revilla Sr. with Genelyn Magsaysay and the half-brother of Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.—was shot and stabbed by two men who entered his family’s house shortly before midnight on Friday.

He was rushed to the Parañaque General Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 12:15 a.m. on Saturday.

His sister, Ma. Ramona, told the police that she was in her room when she heard her brother arguing with someone followed by gunfire.

She rushed to his room and saw two men, one of them wearing a mask. She said they forced her into a van, drove away and abandoned her near a mall in Pamplona, Las Piñas City.

The police have ruled out robbery in the attack on Bautista because nothing was taken from the house.

P500,000 reward

Senator Revilla has offered a P500,000 reward for any information that will lead to the identification and arrest of his half-brother’s killers.

Beltran said that aside from the testimony to be given by the victim’s girlfriend, they were conducting tests on the spent bullet shells recovered from the crime scene with the results expected to come out later this week.

Probers were also checking the messages on Bautista’s cell phone for any information that could help in their investigation.

“We will also be holding another case conference to give updates to investigating teams from the police and the [National Bureau of Investigation],” Beltran said.

Malacañang, meanwhile, condoled Sunday with the Revillas.

“We would like to condole with the family of the former Sen. Ramon Revilla and Sen. Bong Revilla on the passing of their relative. We expect the Philippine National Police to be on top of the case,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told state radio dzRB.

At the same time, she said she did not know whether President Aquino would be going to Bautista’s wake in Imus, Cavite.—With a report from Christine O. Avendaño