MANILA - The Department of Justice on Monday filed murder charges before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Navotas against fishing magnate Lopez Jimenez, his lawyer-brother Manuel Jimenez Jr. and four others in connection with the killing of Ruby Rose Barrameda, sister of actress Rochelle Barrameda,  in 2007.

In a 19-page resolution, the DOJ investigating prosecutors led by Senior State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva said the testimony of lone witness Manuel Montero is enough to establish probable cause to indict the Jimenez brothers and other accused Eric Fernandez, Lennard “Spyke” Descalso and Roberto Ponce for Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code or murder.

Montero is included in the murder complaint filed by the DOJ but Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said the prosecutors will ask the lower court to discharge him as one of the accused so he can be turned into a state witness.

The DOJ, on the other hand, cleared Ruby Rose’ husband Manuel Jimenez III and another accused Rudy de la Cruz for lack of probable cause.

Devanadera said although Jimenez III’s name was mentioned in Montero’s affidavit, there were no “overt acts” that would link him in the murder of his wife.

“There was never any direct contact between Montero and Manuel III. It was only ‘Spyke’ who talked with someone who claimed to be Manuel III. A witness may not testify as to what he merely learned from others either because he was told or read or heard the same. Such testimony is considered hearsay and may not be received as proof of the truth of what he was learned,” the panel said.

The investigating panel noted that the recovery of Ruby Rose’ body on Jun 9, 2009 would have been impossible without the help of Montero.

Montero, in his affidavit, recounted that he was summoned by Lope, his employer, on March 12, 2007 to the conference room of the Buena Suerte Jimenez (BSJ) Compound located at Lot 4, Gozon Commercial Complex, Letre Road, Malabon City.

Montero said during their meeting, Lope directed him to kill Ruby Rose under the instructions of his brother, for bringing shame to the Jimenez family.

Ponce, Descalzo and Fernandez, according to Montero, were tasked to abduct Ruby Rose from the Jimenez residence in Las Pinas City after visiting her children and be brought to the BSJ Compound where she would be killed.

On March 14, 2007, the plan was carried out and Ruby Rose was brought by Fernandez by Ponce, Descalso and Ponce on board a white Ford E-150 to the BSJ Compound.

Montero claimed that he was able to briefly talk to Ruby and asked what fault he committed against the Jimenezes and the latter told her that she was not aware of any reason.

On the same night, Descalso killed Ruby Rose by strangling her with a rope and placed her body inside a steel drum and poured with cement and placed inside a steel casing and poured against with cement.

Montero admitted that he was the one who welded the steel drum and the steel casing.

The steel casing was loaded on a truck with a built-in telescopic boom and was brought to the Navotas fishport and transferred to a tug boat and then thrown into the sea.

He said Jimenez Jr. paid P50,000 to Descalso, Fernandez and Ponce while he was not given any money since he was a regular employee of Lope.

Lope, Montero said, called up his brother to inform him that the plan was executed.
         
“The testimony of a witness must be considered and calibrated in its entirety and not by truncated portions thereof or isolated passages therein. The undersigned investigating panel notes that the recovery of the cadaver depended greatly on the information provided by Montero,”  the panel said.

“Given the vast expanse of water in the Navotas area, it would have been quite difficult, it not nearly impossible, to pinpoint with a certain degree of accuracy the exact location of the steel casing…The details he mentioned in his statement coincided with the particulars of the recovered object,” the DOJ said.

The investigating panel held that the denial of the accusations of the respondents cannot be given credence over the positive identification made by Montero.

With respect to De la Cruz, the DOJ noted that Montero did not name him as one of the perpetrators of the killing.

The DOJ said the only participation of De la Cruz , according to Montero, was to prepare the “steel box” without any elaboration on whether he was aware of what it was for.

“It is for this reason that the panel finds there is insufficient evidence to establish the existence of probable cause against him for murder,” the DOJ said.

The other members of the investigating panel are State Prosecutor I Benito Oliver Sales and State Prosecutor II Cielito Celi.