NBI begins overseas search for murder suspect Ramona Bautista

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday issued a formal request to the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime (PCTC) for information on the whereabouts of Maria Ramona Bautista, one of the suspects in the killing of her brother Ramgen “Ram" Revilla. In a letter dated Nov. 8, 2011, NBI International Police Organization (INTERPOL) chief Claro de Castro Jr., on behalf of NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula, asked Police Director Felizardo Serapino Jr., executive director of PCTC, to get verification from INTERPOL Ankara if Bautista had indeed entered Istanbul, Turkey, where her husband resides. NBI Interpol also requested PCTC to ask INTERPOL Ankara to confirm Ramona's immigration status, and inform other INTERPOL member countries to alert the NBI should Bautista enter their jurisdiction. The PCTC is tasked to "explore and coordinate information exchanges with other government agencies, foreign countries and international organizations" to fight transnational crime. Bautista, 22, left for Hong Kong last Friday, days after she was tagged in the shooting and stabbing of Revilla, 23. Their other sibling, 18-year-old Ramon Joseph “RJ" Bautista, is also implicated in the crime and is now in police custody. The three are half-siblings of Sen. Ramon “Bong" Revilla Jr. Genelyn Magsaysay, mother of the three, denied that her children would resort to killing each other in order to resolve their differences. Revilla's personal assistant, Ronald Ancajas, said the siblings have not been on speaking terms for quite sometime over money issues. Ramona, a Philippine passport holder, indicated in her embarkation card that she was a resident of Pinartepe, Naallesi, Istanbul, Turkey, according to the NBI. She left the country with the Bureau of Immigration’s consent. The NBI had earlier said it could not request INTERPOL to place Bautista on its “Red Notice" list because no warrant of arrest had been issued against her. A Red Notice seeks “the arrest or provisional arrest of wanted person with a view to extradition." Extradition allows the surrender or transfer of a suspected or convicted criminal from one country to another requesting country, in order to put the suspect or criminal on trial or behind bars. The Philippines, however, has no extradition treaty with Turkey. - KBK, GMA News