MANILA, Philippines—Text messages found on the mobile phone of one of the suspects in the slaying of Ramgen Bautista (a.k.a Ram Revilla), talk of the plot to kill him and warn the owner of the phone not to talk to the police, or something dire will happen to him.
The messages were found by the police on the cell phone seized from Roy Francis Tolisora, alias “Kiko,” according to a police affidavit submitted to the Parañaque City Prosecutor’s Office.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer was given a copy of the police affidavit on condition that the names of the senders of the text messages would not be mentioned.
The supposed senders of the text messages were among the suspects named in the murder and attempted murder charges filed by the police in connection with the death of Bautista and the wounding of his girlfriend, Janelle Manahan.
Tolisora is among the suspects included in the murder complaint.
According to the police affidavit, one of the text messages to Tolisora read: “Pag oras na sumuka ka ng pangalan namin, pasensiyahan tayo (The moment you reveal our names, don’t blame us for what will happen to you).”
In a message on October 30, or two days after Bautista was stabbed and shot dead, another text sender said: “I have everything, including the gun.”
For the word ‘gun,’ the sender used the colloquial term “boga.”
In another message, one of the senders told Tolisora to “li low” (or lie low) and to “not speak about the incident to avoid being tagged as suspects.”
Some of the messages recorded on Tolisora’s phone came from the same numbers while other messages came from different numbers.
In one text message, the sender asked if Michael Jay Altea, alias “Mikel,” and Ruel Puzon, alias “Cacho” or “Chokat,” were the ones who killed Revilla.
Altea is among the suspects already in police custody. Puzon, who has said he was part of the group that allegedly planned to kill Revilla but was not part of the group that carried it out, has turned into a witness for the police.
One message, dated October 10, apparently instructed Tolisora to kill Revilla inside his home (“sa loob nyo tirahin”).
Police investigators from Task Force Ramgen, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they have not been authorized to talk to the media, said they believed that the last message pertained to an earlier failed attempt to kill Revilla.
They declined to comment further pending the inquest of the suspects at the Parañaque Prosecutor’s Office.
The text exchanges found from some of the suspects’ cell phones have revealed information on the plot, money matters and betrayal, according to a police joint affidavit of arrest submitted to the Paranaque prosecutors’ office on the murder of Ramgen Bautista.
The mobile phone of suspect Roy Francis Tolisora, alias “Kiko,” was recovered by authorities following their arrest on October 31 in Barangay (village)San Dionisio, Parañaque City.
In one text message from Tolisora’s cell phone, an unidentified sender asked if suspect Michael Jay Altea alias “Mikel” and witness Ruel Puzon alias “Cacho” or “Chocat” were the ones who killed Revilla.
Based on the statements of witness Puzon who said he was part of the planning but not part of the execution, Tolisora and Altea were arrested by police as the alleged hired killers paid by Revilla’s younger brother 18-year-old Ramon Joseph, or “RJ.”
A series of exchanges on October 30 also showed that they have not heard from “Mikel” and “Chokat,” while another set of messages were focused on “going (praning) or anxious because of an alleged CCTV footage that the police had recovered.
Police investigators from Task Force Ramgen who spoke on condition of anonymity believe that the message pertained to the earlier foiled attempt to kill Revilla. They declined to comment further while the charge is heard at the inquest proceedings in Paranaque Prosecutor’s Office.
The suspects’ text messages also mentioned that the news media have reported on the P500,000 reward money offered to anyone who can give information on the crime.
From the cell phone of Glaiza Vista, another suspect in the killing, a text message warned that they should “lie low” and “not to speak about the incident to avoid being tagged as suspects.”
Other messages pertain to possible betrayal, with one text threatening another that “the moment you vomit our name, (lagot ka sa amin, kap) you better watch out, kap.”