It was seven years ago when news broke out that actor Ramgen “Ram” Revilla was murdered. On October 28, 2011, Ramgen spent his last day with his girlfriend, Janelle Manahan. They stayed in his room the whole day, watched movies, ate lunch, merienda, and dinner. Ramgen kept singing the song "The Way I Do" by Texas-based singer Marcos Hernandez, recalled Janelle. At one point, he also wrote, “Ram Revilla, I heart you forever,” on her skin.
It was around 11:30 p.m. when Ramgen’s younger sister, Ramona whom they called Mara, knocked on their door. According to Janelle’s testimony, Mara came in to borrow a video camera. She left the door open—a mistake that proved to be fatal.
A masked man barged in and shot Janelle in the face, hitting her in the jaw. She was also stabbed twice in the chest. Ramgen, who tried to fight off the attacker, was shot and stabbed 16 times. Janelle claimed that, as she was losing consciousness, she could hear Mara talking on the phone to Gail Bautista Furuyama, another younger sister, who seems to have answered her very calmly. Mara then rushed out to get help but never returned. Janelle struggled to call for help using her own phone.
The two were brought to the Parañaque General Hospital, where Ramgen was pronounced dead on arrival at 12:15 a.m. He was only 23 years old.
Complicated family life
Ramgen was one of the many children of Ramon Revilla Sr., who is rumored to have as many as 81 children with at least 16 different women. Born Ramgen Jose Magsaysay Bautista, Ramgen was the eldest son of the older Revilla with Genelyn Magsaysay, who was from the Magsaysay political clan. She, in turn, was the illegitimate daughter of Senator Genaro Magsaysay, Ramon Magsaysay’s brother, with an actress named Lyn Madrigal.
When Don Ramon won his second senatorial term in 1998, Genelyn and her children considered moving to the main mansion in Imus, Cavite. It was also around the time when the elder Revilla’s wife, Azucena Mortel, died of a heart attack. Revilla's children with Azucena would not allow it, so Revilla built a house for Genelyn and their nine children in BF Homes in Parañaque.
The house dwarfed the other structures in the area, but it was rumored that Genelyn was dissatisfied with the middle-class neighborhood. Sources said that, among Revilla’s girlfriends, Genelyn was the only one who did not work and consistently demanded for sustento, despite a P2.3-million credit card debt. The other girlfriends would simply ask for an initial capital to build a business like a salon or sari-sari stores.
Genelyn wanted to move into the Imus mansion and take on the role of matriarch, according to some. The children of Azucena allegedly did not get along well with Genelyn, but they took kindly to her children. Bong Revilla, one of Azucena's sons, was particularly fond of Ramgen, who often hung out with Bong's children, Jolo and Bryan, who were the same age.
During Ramgen’s burial, Jolo was seen bursting into tears as his uncle’s casket was being sealed shut. Only four years later, Jolo’s life would also be in danger because of a gunshot wound. Jolo was rushed to the hospital due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, allegedly obtained while he was cleaning his gun. Unlike his uncle who became his close friend during their childhood and teen years, he survived.
Genelyn's children were reported to have received P290,000 a month in allowances, while Genelyn received a different amount for her own personal allowance.
Money matters
Genelyn was not shy to let the world know of a growing tension between the different branches in the growing Revilla-Bautista branch of the family. She often ranted on Facebook about how the children of Azucena called her a “parasite” who feels entitled to more than her share.
“Before I met him I'm working already, now they are telling me I'm a parasite when the allowance that you are giving is not enough for monthly consumption,” Genelyn wrote in a post dated October 11, 2011. (According to the Philippine Family Code, however, as a recognized common-law partner of Ramon Revilla Sr., then she has the right to wages, salaries, and property “in equal shares” as “governed by the rules on co-ownership” [Chapter 7 “Property Regime of Unions Without Marriage” Article 147]).
Nevertheless, Genelyn's children were reported to have received P290,000 a month in allowances, while Genelyn received a different amount for her own personal allowance. Other reports said that the children got as much as P1 million a month because the children would often ask for extra cash for luxurious purchases like cars. In fact, during the time of Ramgen’s death, reports stated that there were three to four luxury cars parked in their residence, all purchased with the elder Revilla’s money. (This amount was disputed by their half-brother Bong in another interview.)
This arrangement was disrupted in 2008 when Revilla Sr. suffered a stroke. On October 9, 2011, Genelyn posted on Facebook that their allowance had been cut completely. Other members of the family denied this.
Money matters seemed to be the central theme of conflict within the family. Months before his death, Ramgen and younger brother Ramon Joseph, known as “RJ,” who was then 18, had a major fight when RJ sold his new Mitsubishi Strada for P800,000. Ramgen told their father, who punished RJ by withholding the downpayment of a new Mitsubishi Montero that RJ had purchased after the sale of the Strada.
Ramgen was said to have handled the financial matters in the family, being the eldest, while other reports stated that he was only able to do it for two months before his death. It was originally RJ who did the budgeting, according to other sources. Why the change? Has it something to do with the alleged sale of the new car?
Other reports painted Ramgen in an unflattering light. A year after his death, Janelle Manahan appeared on a talk show and spilled the beans on Ramgen’s character. She admitted to being a battered girlfriend and said that Ramgen would also hurt his other siblings. Manahan's lawyer, Argee Guevarra, said Ramgen even beat his own siblings, and had been known to choke them.
“I want to be transparent about what he really is,” Janelle said in the interview.
Are these possible motives for murder? The police investigators assigned to the case, Task Force Ramgen, thought so. Ramgen’s siblings were suspected to be in cahoots, with RJ and Mara as primary suspects.
A silencer was affixed to the gun used, investigations later revealed. They were only woken up by the police later on but Ancajas claimed that he did see Mara and RJ leave the house.
Witnesses and hired hitmen
The night of the murder, Ramgen’s household helpers and even his personal aide, Ronald Ancajas, did not hear the gunshots. A silencer was affixed to the gun used, investigations later revealed. They were only woken up by the police later on but Ancajas claimed that he did see Mara and RJ leave the house. Two security guards from the village corroborated the story.
This was in contrast to Mara’s story that she was “kidnapped” by the assailants. The fact that she fled to Turkey, where she is a resident via her marriage to Turkish national Engin Tuna Bulbuloglu, also seemed suspicious.
A day later, a man named Roel Puzon came forward to make a confession. He told the Parañaque police that Glaiza Visda, Ryan Pastera, and Norwin dela Cruz had acted as middlemen, and had asked him and another buddy, Lloyd Comeda, to kill Ramgen. This statement was supported by Lloyd, who also came forward. Lloyd tagged RJ and Mara as the masterminds behind the plot.
Aside from this, Lloyd also said that two other gunmen were hired to carry out the murder. They are Michael Jay Crus Nartea (Altea in other sources) and Roy Francis Tolisora (Tolisoro in the charge sheet), who were arrested in Parañaque on Oct. 31. Michael and Roy Francis later claimed that while they were originally hired to murder the actor on late night October 11 / early morning October 12, they backed out when they heard a gun cocking from the other side of the door, where Ramgen was.
This encounter was relayed to Janella by Ramgen and screenshots of their conversation was taken by the court as evidence. Despite this incident, however, it didn’t seem that Ramgen tightened the security in the house.
After the failed attempt, Roel and Lloyd were tapped by the middlemen who promised P200,000 to carry out the deed. On October 14, they were met by a certain Bryan and RJ who gave them P19,000 to buy a new gun. Three days later, they stalked the perimeter of the house where a Mitsubishi Montero was parked. Roel said that it was the same Mitsubishi Montero that was used in the first failed attempt.
Roel didn’t mention if the group met after that or who really carried out the deed, only that Michael often bragged that his task will “soon be over.” Michael and Roy Francis, however, said that they backed out the last minute. And they also had alibis. Michael stayed at home while Roy Francis went drinking were friends. If the hired hitmen all backed out, then who was the masked man who attacked Ramgen? There were speculations that it was RJ himself.
Justice delayed
RJ was later arrested in Bacoor City, Cavite province. Police filed charges against the seven suspects following his arrest.
On November 15, Glaiza and Norwin also turned themselves in and implicated Ramgen's sister, Gail Bautista Furuyama, in the murder. According to them, it was Ryan who invited them to be part of the murder squad.
Janelle also filed murder and frustrated murder charges against Gail and her husband, Hiro. Charges were dropped by the prosecutor’s office because “probable cause has not been identified.” As for the suspicious phone call from Mara, Gail countered that Janelle was grievously injured at the time—how could she remember the sound of the voice of a person from the other end of the call?
It was January the next year when RJ and the other accused filed a petition for bail. Just six days later, they pleaded not guilty at their arraignment. Days after, Ryan also surrendered and denied any involvement in the case. The petition for bail of RJ and the rest of the suspected hitmen and middle men were denied. Only Roy Francis was allowed bail of P200,000 due to lack of sufficient evidence.
Mara, on the other hand, reportedly traveled to Cyprus to avoid Turkish officials and journalists. She moved all around Europe to avoid arrest. She was later placed in the wanted and red notice list of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) for immediate arrest and extradition.
Mara sent a video message after she fled, explaining why she made up the story of being kidnapped. She said it was because she was ashamed that she ran away and was unable to help her brother and his girlfriend. She also said that Ancajas, Ramgen’s aide, was the one who did it. She also proposed the idea that the masked attacker was really after Janelle because she was shot first.
It seems that not a lot of people are buying this story, even members of her own family. Bong himself pleaded that the Philippine National Police should seek help the help of the Interpol to bring Mara back to the Philippines.
Through this whole ordeal, the family suffered even more. A few weeks after Ramgen’s murder and the subsequent news that siblings might be involved, Revilla Sr. was rushed to the hospital.
“The family is distraught, shattered, shocked. We are dealing with a lot of things. First, we were grieving for Ramgen, then this came up. It’s just too much,” a spokesperson for the family told the press.
The Revilla family was split: Some members of the family, like Bong, don’t believe Mara, while there were also those who sided with RJ.
When Don Ramon finally recovered in 2013, he addressed the issue and said he chose to believe in his son’s innocence. “Para akong nabagsakan ng mundo nang malaman ko na ang aking anak na si Ramon Joseph ay hindi nabigyan ng piyansa ng hukuman... Ako po ay naniniwalang hindi magagawa ng anak ko ang ganiyang bagay na karumaldumal. Ang mga anak ko ay lumaki sa salita ng Panginoon. Isa siyang mabuting anak," the elder Revilla stated.
By the end of 2013, the case was far from closed. Evidence, it seemed, was still being gathered. When journalist Raissa Robles sent a tweet to Janella on June 24, 2014, asking her for updates on the case, Janella replied, “It’s still ongoing, but honestly, nothing’s happening.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/raissawriter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@raissawriter</a>: What happened to Ram Revilla's murder case?--it's still ongoing but honestly, nothing's happening. justice in this country...</p>— Janelle Manahan (@Janelle_Manahan) <a href="https://twitter.com/Janelle_Manahan/status/481631767330172928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Writer Wilson Lee Flores jumped in the conversation and tweeted, “Even a brother and a son of a Senator cannot get fast justice in Philippines? Shocking.”
Sources:
‘Parañaque house built to keep Genelyn Magsaysay out of Imus mansion’— source
Janelle Manahan recounts last day with boyfriend Ramgen Revilla
Bong Revilla: An agimat that works
Sen. Ramon Revilla’s “Other Woman”
Feud over monthly allowance seen in Ramgen Bautista’s murder
Janelle Manahan: I was a battered girlfriend
Ramgen told dad of mom's P2.3M debts?
Witness says he was asked to kill Ramgen
After fleeing abroad, Ramona says Ramgen's aide did it
Ramon Revilla Sr. declares his children did not kill Ramgen Revilla
