DOJ orders filing of raps vs. Ruby Rose’s husband, clears fishing magnate

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has ordered the filing of charges against the husband of slay victim Ruby Rose Barrameda, while clearing another suspect in the killing. In a 12-page resolution dated March 1, the DOJ granted a petition for review filed by the Barrameda camp late last year and recommended the filing of parricide charges against Manuel Jimenez III, Ruby Rose’s husband. The DOJ put weight on statements made by slay eye witness Manuel Montero in June 2009 tagging Jimenez III in the kidnapping and murder of Ruby Rose three years ago. “The statements made by Montero as to the participation of Manuel Jimenez III to the killing coming from what he heard from Spyke (Jimenez III’s bodyguard) cannot be simply considered as hearsay. They are independent, relevant statements," the resolution read. The DOJ likewise said that Jimenez III “has every motive to participate, if not plan, the murder of his wife," citing his custody battle with Ruby Rose over their two children. (See: Even in death, a bitter child custody battle rages) On June 10 last year, Ruby Rose’s body was found inside a cement-filled steel case submerged off the Navotas Fish Port more than two years after she had gone missing in March 2007. The slay victim and Jimenez III were said to be engaged in a bitter custody battle for their two young daughters when she disappeared. In August 2009, the DOJ filed before the Navotas Regional Trial Court murder charges against Ruby Rose’s father-in-law Manuel Jimenez Jr., his brother Lope Jimenez, and four other alleged accomplices, namely: Manuel Montero, Eric Fernandez, Lennard Descalso, and Robert Ponce. (See: Murder raps for Ruby Rose's father-in-law, 5 others – DOJ) Jimenez III’s lawyer, Mario Aguinaldo, said his camp is going to file a motion for reconsideration before the DOJ, although they have yet to receive a copy of the resolution. Fishing magnate cleared In the same resolution, the DOJ ruled that the fishing magnate Lope Jimenez be cleared of any involvement due to “lack of probable cause." The justice department granted a petition for review filed by Lope’s camp in September 2009, which argued that the fishing magnate and his brother, Manuel Jr., could not have possibly connived to kill Ruby Rose, since the brothers have not been in good terms even before the incident. Montero, in a sworn affidavit dated May 18, 2009, said “Lope Jimenez directed him to kill Ruby Rose under the instruction of his brother, Atty. Manuel Jimenez Jr." The DOJ ruled that Montero’s statements are “inadmissible," citing Section 28, Rule 130 of the Rules of Court, which states that the declarations of an accused in a crime are only “binding upon the confessant and is not admissible against others." “The inadmissible confessions or admissions of Manuel Montero… are utterly devoid of any evidence that would separately and independently prove conspiracy between Lope Jimenez and other respondents... The inadmissible and utterly insufficient evidence cannot stand when measured against the constitutional right of the accused to be protected against hasty, malicious and oppressive prosecution," the resolution read. Lope’s counsel, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, however, said that his client is not yet completely cleared from the murder case, since the Barrameda camp may ask for a review of the DOJ’s resolution before the Court of Appeals. Lope Jimenez owns Buena Suerte Jimenez (BSJ) Fishing and Trading Co., which maintains a compound in Navotas where Ruby Rose was allegedly killed. —with Mark Meruenas/JV, GMANews.TV