Revillas find police conclusion unbelievable

A MOTHER’S LAMENTATION Genelyn Magsaysay weeps over the body of her eldest son Ramgen Jose Bautista as the Revilla clan rallies around her during the burial rites on Wednesday at the family-owned Angelus Memorial Garden in Imus, Cavite province. At left is Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla. LYN RILLON

IMUS, Cavite—Overcast skies and a brass band set the somber mood at the funeral Wednesday of Ramgen Jose Bautista, a scion of the Bautista-Revilla clan whose murder has been blamed on his siblings.

Echoing the grieving family’s sentiment, Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. cast doubt on the conclusion of police investigators that Ramon Joseph “RJ” Bautista, 18, and Ma. Ramona Belen Bautista, 22, had masterminded the crime.

“[W]e are appealing, if it’s possible, [for] a reinvestigation. It’s unbelievable that [the crime] could be done by our siblings,” the senator told reporters after the funeral. “The family thinks [the conclusion of the investigation] is unbelievable. They could not have possibly done it.”

The music of the band drowned the wails of the mourners led by the mother, Genelyn Magsaysay, who had to lean on family members to keep her footing as she wept over the white casket bearing the body of her eldest son.

Among the mourners at the family-owned Angelus Memorial Park were Revilla Jr. and his wife, Cavite Representative Lani Mercado.

At 3 p.m., the officiating priest said the final prayers and Revilla Jr., a half-brother of the deceased, signaled to have the casket closed and lowered to the ground.

The senator’s son Jolo burst into tears as his uncle’s casket was closed shortly after a family member put what looked like a Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch box inside.

Ramgen Bautista (Ram Revilla in show biz), 23, was stabbed and shot in the family residence in Parañaque City late on October 28. His girlfriend, Janelle Manahan, survived the attack but remains in critical condition at a hospital in Muntinlupa City.

‘They’re innocent’

Earlier in the day, Magsaysay lamented that her younger children had been charged with the murder of their brother.

She maintained that like other families, they had their “differences” at home. But that did not mean that her children had “the capacity to kill their sibling.”

“I did not raise them to kill each other,” the mother told reporters. “I did not raise them to be rude.”

RJ and Ramona Bautista were included in the charge sheet that the police filed with the Parañaque Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday afternoon. He was arrested early on Tuesday shortly after leaving his brother’s wake; she is at large, according to police.

Two men whom witnesses had named as the gunmen—Michael Jay Cruz Altea and Roy Francis Tolisoro—were arrested on Monday.

Police are still looking for at least three other persons, the alleged coconspirators.

Magsaysay appealed to the police to find her son’s “killers,” and sought public assistance to disprove the police conclusion that her two other children were the masterminds.

She insisted on their “innocence” and said: “I don’t know who could have done this, what kind of anger they might have against us, our family.

“Please hunt down the real killers. Don’t use our family. Don’t give us the runaround.”

‘Tough for them’

Chief Inspector Fergen Torred, head of the intelligence unit of the Parañaque police, said he understood the family’s sentiment and the grief they were experiencing.

He said their sentiments had been “anticipated.”

“They lost a loved one and yet the persons responsible for that [loss] are among them. It’s tough for them,” Torred said in a phone interview.

He expressed hope that any doubts in the investigation would be settled when city prosecutors release their recommendation within the week.

Torred said that while he considered the case “closed” at this point, some investigators were still sifting through Ramgen Bautista’s text messages and other evidence and testimonies to make sure they had not left stones unturned.

He said the arrest of RJ Bautista was valid, contrary to the claim of the latter’s lawyer who had threatened to file charges against the police in a radio interview.

“If there are questions on what we did, we welcome any administrative case and we will answer that in the proper forum,” he said.

Torred also denied that the killing concerned the P1-million allowance that the siblings were reportedly receiving every month from their father, former Senator Ramon Revilla Sr.

He said that the motive of the crime was “personal” and that the charges against RJ and Ramona Bautista and at least five others were based on “credible” testimonies that the investigators had pieced together.

‘Investigate properly’

Revilla Jr. said that he would let the law “take its course” and that he was leaving the investigation to the authorities.

He said he was asking them only one thing: “Make sure you investigate properly. Make sure that what you are doing is right.”

But the senator’s talent manager, Lolit Solis, said he was “disappointed” with how the investigation went.

“Bong thinks this is the result of the family’s decision to give a P500,000 reward [for information leading to the arrest of the killers],” Solis told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“He felt bad that their other siblings were dragged into this. He’s worried whether the two youngsters could ever recover from trauma because of this. He is asking the police to be thorough in their investigation,” she said. With a report from Marinel R. Cruz