Ramona believed to have joined husband in Turkey

TURNAROUND. Ramona Bautista changed her story on her abduction which raises more questions like why she was seen in a mall 3 hours after the attack. Police want to know why she didn’t go to nearest precinct to report the crime. Her younger brother RJ Bautista (right) is now in jail. PHOTO FROM HTTP://ALIWANAVENUE.WORDPRESS.COM/FACEBOOK PAGE OF RJ’S MOVIE “FIDEL”

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. believes his sister Ramona Bautista may have joined her husband in Turkey in a bid to avoid investigators looking into the murder of her brother Ramgen Jose.

“Malamang ‘yung ang pupuntahan niya ngayon (It’s likely that’s where she would now go),” the senator said in a live interview on the television entertainment program Startalk Saturday afternoon.

Revilla Jr. floated this suspicion after confirming that Bautista was “married to someone from Turkey” when asked by talent manager Lolit Solis, one of the program’s hosts.

The senator recalled that their father, former senator Ramon Revilla Sr. was disappointed when Bautista got married at 19. She is now 22.

The Philippines does not have an extradition treaty with Turkey. Revilla Jr. apparently had this in mind when he asked Bautista’s mother, former actress Genelyn “Jenny Lyn” Magsaysay to cooperate with investigators and ask her daughter to return to the country.

“Nananawagan ako sa nanay na si Genelyn, pabalikin mo ang anak mo. Hindi ako naniniwalang hindi mo alam na aalis ang anak mo (I am calling on the mother, Genelyn. Make your daughter come back. I don’t believe you did not know your daughter was leaving),” Revilla Jr. appealed on the air.

Bautista was last seen in line in front of a check-in booth at Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Friday night. She had a red scarf wrapped around her face and neck and turned away from one reporter who asked where she was going.

Bautista’s departure upset Revilla Jr. and caused him to comment that “flight is a sign of guilt” in a phone call made to Inquirer after her exit to Hong Kong was confirmed.

Before Revilla Jr. went on the air on Saturday, a source close to the family said the Revillas were not known to have a residence in Hong Kong and it was more likely that Bautista went there to catch a connecting flight to where her husband is.

“She might be catching a connecting flight. It’s possible that Hong Kong is not her final destination,” the source said.

Revilla Jr. told Startalk that he has asked the National Bureau of Investigation to “coordinate with Interpol” in an effort to bring Bautista back to the country.

The senator said Bautista’s departure was tantamount to a direct admission of her involvement in her elder brother’s murder.

A younger brother, 18-year old Ramon Joseph “RJ” Bautista, is detained at the Parañaque City Jail after one witness and two other suspects identified him as the mastermind.

“Kung talagang wala siyang (Bautista) kasalanan, ‘di siya dapat umalis. Harapin niya ito. Nariyan ang kapatid niya, nakakulong si Joseph (If she is really innocent, she should not have left. She should face this. Her borhter is in jail). With her departure, it is like telling everyone that the accusations are true,” Revilla Jr. said.

The senator said Ramgen’s death affected him deeply since the slain half-brother grew up with his two sons, Jolo and Bryan, who are about the same age.

He added that it was his mother, the late Azucena Bautista, who raised Ramgen like her own.

Revilla Sr. has nine children with Magsaysay. Ramgen was the eldest. Police alleged that his siblings plotted to kill him after disputes over the distribution of the allowance given by Revilla Sr. escalated.

Meanwhile, at least three witnesses told the Inquirer they saw Bautista hanging out at a branch of a popular coffee chain in the BF Homes commercial area hours before her brother was killed.

One witness said Bautista was well known among the baristas of the coffee shop who referred to her as “Mara.”

The second witness said they were sure it was Bautista who came to have coffee around 7 p.m. on October 29.

“Her looks are very distinct. She has fair skin, is tall and very pretty so she easily catches attention. We cannot be mistaken,” the second witness said in Filipino.

Both witnesses said Bautista was a regular customer and would usually occupy the armchair in a corner near the washroom.

However, both added it would be difficult to recall who Bautista was with the time.

“It was a Friday before a long weekend and the place was packed,” the second witness said. “I would not be able to recall who she was with but usually, she hung out with friends.”

A third witness noted that Ramgen was also a customer but that his sister came more often.

This witness added that shortly after Bautista admitted on television that she made up the story about being abducted by her brother’s murderers, a plainclothesman police officer came to the coffee shop and asked whether the establishment had a CCTV camera that may have recorded Bautista passing by the area or entering the establishment after the murder.

Police said Ramgen’s aide, Ronaldo Ancajas, claimed he saw RJ and Bautista leave on foot one after the other on the night of the murder.

However, Ancajas said, he was not yet aware that Ramgen had been killed just minutes before, and assumed that the siblings were on their way to Baguio City to join other members of the family.

Revilla Jr. sounded distraught, as if he was trying to contain his emotions, when he called the Inquirer shortly before midnight Friday after confirming reports that Bautista had left the country.

“This is bad, this is really bad…. Flight is a sign of guilt, it’s a sign of guilt,” the senator said over and over.

“Kung anong iniisip n’yo, ‘yun din ang iniisip namin (What you’re thinking is also what I’m thinking),” he added.

Revilla Jr. said the family disapproved of Bautista’s hurried exodus because of the impression it has left on the public.

“Bakit siya tatakas? Dapat niyang panagutan ito dahil lalong kaming naiipit (Why should she escape? She should answer for this because we are getting squeezed tighter),” the senator complained.

“We assure everyone that we will not tolerate ‘yang ganyang mga gawain. The rule of law must prevail. Be assured that the family supports all efforts to seek the truth. Maski kami talaga nagko-condemn na,” he fumed.

“Hindi talaga ito mapapatawad. Hindi ito maganda (This is unforgiveable. It’s not nice),” the senator added.

Originally posted at 6:10 p.m.