Feud over monthly allowance seen in Ramgen Bautista’s murder

A source privy to the finances of former Senator Ramon Revilla Sr. said a dispute over how his son, Ramon Joseph “RJ” Bautista, 18, handled the P290,000 monthly allowance provided to him and his eight siblings appeared to be the cause of his feud with murdered older brother Ramgen.

“Joseph was really the one managing the budget but because he proved to be unable to do so properly, this responsibility was transferred to his Kuya Ramgen who handled the allowance for only two months until his death (on October 28),” said the source who made a phone call to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Sunday.

It was not known whether the decision to let Ramgen assume the responsibility was a consensus among the nine siblings that Revilla Sr. had with Genelyn Magsaysay.

Ramgen was 23 when he was stabbed several times and then shot dead by a masked assailant inside his room at 4 President Ave., BF Homes Phase 6-A in Parañaque City.

His girlfriend, Janelle Manahan, was also attacked, but she survived and is now being closely guarded at Asian Hospital in Muntinlupa City.

The source added that at the time of Ramgen’s death, Joseph had just purchased a brand-new vehicle.

“Joseph sold his old pickup so he can buy a new car,” said the source.

Earlier reports said the brothers fought over a P1-million monthly stipend.

To explain this huge amount, the source said that apart from the monthly cash allowance, Revilla Sr.’s nine children with Magsaysay also get to ask their father for extras “to buy luxurious personal effects,” such as new cars.

There were supposed to be “three to four vehicles” parked in their garage that were purchased with their father’s money, the source said.

These details were apparently revealed to dispute Magsaysay’s accusations aired through posts in social-networking sites that Revilla Sr.’s legitimate children were ignoring her children’s financial needs.

While Magsaysay did not name a particular child, she singled out someone who allegedly left out her children during “election time.”

“The children also receive tuition for the pricey schools they are enrolled in. So how can she accuse (Revilla Sr.’s) other children of treating her kids shabbily? They are not exactly wallowing in poverty,” the source added.

Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. dismissed Magsaysay’s complaint at a news conference on Saturday night. “Everybody knows that is not true,” he said that time.

The senator insinuated that Magsaysay appeared to be exerting effort to distract public attention from Joseph’s and sister Ramona’s inclusion in the charge sheet of their brother’s murder.

The source said that right after Revilla Sr. learned of Magsaysay’s posts against his older children, the former senator called his personal accountants and instructed them to come up with a list of the expenses of her children that he continues to shoulder.

Revilla Sr. reportedly found himself “obligated” to defend his older children from Magsaysay’s online tirade.

“Anytime now, the former senator himself will talk about the amount of money being given to (Magsaysay’s) children,” the source said.