Even in death, a bitter child custody battle rages

Ruby Rose Barrameda-Jimenez spent the last year of her life trying to be reunited with her two young daughters. Now that she has been found dead -- murdered and sealed in a drum thrown into the sea – her children may not even show up at her wake, the latest excruciating chapter of a bitter child custody battle that the Barrameda family alleges led to Ruby Rose’s death. The family lawyer of Ruby Rose’s husband Manuel Jimenez III claims that the separated couple’s older daughter, age nine, refuses to visit her mother’s wake. "[They asked her] Sabado ng gabi, 'di ka ba pupunta sa burol ng mommy mo?' Sabi ng bata, ayoko po [They asked her Saturday night, 'don't you want to go to your mommy's wake?' The child said she doesn't want to]," said the lawyer, Mario Aguinaldo. The child supposedly asked to be left in peace. "[She said] 'Bakit niyo ba ginugulo ang buhay ko?' Salita ng mature [She said, 'why are you meddling into my life?' She talked like a mature person]," Aguinaldo said.

The Barrameda family cannot ask the child themselves because they have not been given access to the children since their mother disappeared in March 2007. Ruby Rose went missing on the day she was supposed to visit her daughters in her estranged husband’s home. She was then trying to gain custody of their children through the Las Pinas Regional Trial Court. The case was archived following her disappearance. Ruby Rose’s grisly murder and the gangster-like disposal of her body in a cement-sealed drum gripped the public’s attention when the news broke of her body’s discovery in the waters off Navotas. The nightly news now carries the heart-wrenching appeals of the Barramedas for the children to be reunited with their late mother before she is buried. The crime is unusually depraved, but the anguish caused by the high-profile child custody battle is a familiar emotion among many Filipino families torn apart by feuding couples. Court cases can go on for years, and even after a court decision is handed down to share or turn over custody, there have been cases when a parent hides the children and keeps them away from the other parent. Interviewed on television, Ruby Rose’s sister, the actress Rochelle Barrameda, said the Jimenezes have told the girls that their father would be arrested if they went to the wake being held at Funeraria Paz in Parañaque City. “Why would we do that? We only want the children to be with their mother in this last moment," she said in Filipino. The Barramedas have banned the Jimenez family from the wake, claiming that they were responsible for Ruby Rose’s death. Instead the Barramedas have asked the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to step in and accompany the children to the wake. But the DSWD - despite being mandated to take care of children's welfare - cannot just intervene in the case, according to June Ambrosio, president of Child Justice League Inc., a DSWD-backed organization of lawyers and paralegals specializing in children's cases. Ambrosio told GMANews.TV that there must be a report that the children are being abused for the DSWD to intervene. “There has to be somebody reporting to the DSWD. The DSWD on its own cannot just swoop down and get the children." Even though murder charges have been lodged against Ruby Rose's father-in-law and six others, that is not sufficient basis for the DSWD to intervene as the murder issue is separate from the child custody issue, Ambrosio said. Under the law, mothers are generally favored to take custody of children younger than seven, unless there is a compelling reason for a court to rule against her, such as child abuse or negligence. Ultimately, the "best interest" of the children determines the court's decision, said Ambrosio, so there are times when the father is given “preferential treatment" in custody cases. If the Jimenezes were to be asked, however, Ruby Rose's two young daughters' best interest lies with their father, especially now that their mother has been confirmed dead. "Nawalan na ng ina, bakit tatanggalan pa ng ama [They have already lost their mother, why would you want to take them away from their father]?" Aguinaldo said. "As much as possible, we would like to shield the children from these controversies." - GMANews.TV