Ram Revilla's sister retracts, then flies to Hong Kong

(Updated 10:00 p.m.) Ramona Bautista, younger sister of slain actor Ramgen “Ram" Revilla, and allegedly a co-conspirator in his murder, boarded a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong Friday evening. Before leaving, she recanted her earlier statement, said she was not abducted by her brother's killers, and claimed she had nothing to do with the death of Ramgen. Ramgen’s girlfriend, who was seriously wounded in the attack on her boyfriend, said that Ramona was at the crime scene and fled without calling for help. Airport sources said Ramona, also nicknamed Mara, boarded the 8:20 p.m. Cathay Pacific CX902 flight to Hong Kong at the airline's usual boarding portal, Gate 7 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1. Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. said the family was surprised by Ramona's departure and added that his half-sister was not in his custody. The senator said in an interview with GMA News that Ramona's flight is "a sign of guilt." "Kung sino ang may sala dapat makulong," Revilla said. Ramona Bautista is not on the Justice Department's hold departure list. No arrest warrant was issued against her after her brother Ramon Joseph was arrested and detained by the Parañaque City police. The sudden retraction and flight out of the country are the latest twists in what has become one of the most sensational crimes of the year, with the suspected masterminds in the murder of a promising young actor his even younger siblings, whose father is a screen legend and half-brother is a senator and movie star. The victim, suspects, and Senator Bong Revilla are all children of movie icon and former senator Ramon Revilla Sr. In an interview aired over ANC, Ramona recounted that she was inside the house when her brother Ram was killed in his Parañaque City home last Friday night (Oct. 28). The victim's girlfriend, Janelle Manahan, was also attacked but survived. Ramona said she wanted to talk to her brother about a video that she wanted to share with another sibling when a masked man suddenly entered her brother's room and shot Manahan. "Linabanan siya ni Ramgen. Narinig ko si Ramgen nagsabi aray tapos bumalik siya sa kuwarto. Pinilit niya nang buong lakas na isara yung pinto. Naipit pa nga yung kamay ng lalaki na naka-mask," she said in the interview. According to her, she would have also sustained injuries had Ram not protected her. "Utang ko po ang buhay ko sa kapatid ko. Hindi ko siya kayang saktan," she said. She said that she tried to revive Ram after the attack and asked Manahan for her brother's car keys so she could drive them to the hospital but the two did not respond.
In her earlier statement to the police, Ramona said she was abducted by the suspects and was left near a mall in Las Piñas City. She said she could not identify the suspects because they were wearing Halloween-type masks. Manahan told a different story in a statement to the police while recovering from her injuries. She said she had asked Ramona to get help but that the sister just left them and never came back. Ram’s stay-in personal assistant, Ronaldo Ancajas, also said that he was with Ram minutes before the killing but he went upstairs to his room for a nap. Later, he said he saw RJ and Ramona from a window of the house making their way out of the subdivision. After admitting she was not abducted, Ramona said she ran away from the scene out of fear for her life. "Tumakbo na ako sa kotse. Hindi na ako lumingon ng bahay. Ang iniisip ko na lang nun, lalayo ako ng bahay dahil ang killer nandun pa po... wala na pong nagbigay sa akin ng saklolo. Ang alam ko lang mata-trust ko yung mga kapatid ko at hindi na ako masusundan doon," she said. Ramona explained that she told the police a different story because she was ashamed about leaving Ram and his girlfriend (Manahan) behind. "Wala na po ako sa state of mind. Nahihiya ako sa pamilya ko at sa buong mundo na iniwan ko lang sila.... ang gusto ko lang makaalis nung gabing yun," she said. But despite this flip-flopping, she maintained that she was not involved in the killing of her brother. "Malinis po ang konsensya ko. Tinulungan ko po si Janelle ng hangga't makakaya ko po. Alam niya rin po yan," she said. Conspiracy? Ramona and her brother Ramon Joseph "RJ" Bautista were earlier slapped with murder and frustrated murder charges for the killing of their brother Ram and the failed killing of Manahan. The police's "star witness" Roel Puzon, who admitted to being part of the conspiracy, said RJ had hired killers to murder his brother for P200,000 and that he had already given a P19,000 down payment for the purchase of guns. Puzon, who supposedly took part in the planning but not in the execution of the murder plot, added that there were three attempts on Ram's life but that the plan only succeeded on the third try. RJ is already in police custody while Ramona is still considered at large. Also charged along with the Revilla siblings were Michael Altea and Roy Francis Tolisora, who were earlier arrested by police. Three other suspects, identified as Norwin de la Cruz and two others with the aliases Bryan and Glaiza, are also still at large. Ancajas said that a possible motive for the killing was an alleged rift between the siblings over money matters. In his affidavit, he said that the younger siblings resented Ramgen's control of the sizable allowance given to the family by their father, former senator and screen legend Ramon Revilla Sr. No solid proof? Dennis Manzanal, lawyer of RJ and Ramona, said authorities have no solid proof to back up the charges against his clients. He likewise said RJ's arrest was illegal because there was no arrest warrant issued. The Revilla camp has already filed a motion seeking RJ's release. Manzanal told GMA News Online on Friday that he has yet to talk to the two siblings personally. He also said that he only found out about Ramona's retraction through the media. The Revilla family had earlier asked for a reinvestigation of the case but police claimed that the case was closed. — LBG/HS, GMA News