Sen. Bong Revilla’s brother now a suspect!

Sen. Bong Revilla’s brother now a suspect!

(updated)

Joseph Bautista Revilla, a younger brother of slain actor Ram Bautista Revilla, is now among the three prime suspects in the murder of his brother, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

In his report to the PNP high command, Senior Supt. Bill Beltran, the police chief of Parañaque City (Metro Manila), on Tuesday disclosed that Joseph, 18, did not resist arrest midnight of Monday and is now in police custody, accompanied by his lawyer Ricardo Galido.

According to Beltran, they have solid evidence against the younger Revilla based on testimonial account of witnesses.

“He [Joseph] was being pointed to by two other suspects and also identified by witnesses,” he said.

Joseph’s alleged accomplices in the crime have been identified as Roy Francis Tolisora and Michael Altia y Cruz, who were both arrested on Sunday.

Beltran said that they have ruled out robbery, love triangle and politics in the killing of Ram and are now looking at the angle of sibling rivalry or personal feud between the two brothers

He added that they would soon file the information sheet against the suspects before the fiscal’s office, which will determine if there is probable cause to warrant the filing of corresponding criminal charges before the proper court.

Beltran confirmed that Ram and Joseph have the same parents and both were living in the same house where the crime happened.

The two are sons of former Sen. Ramon Revilla Sr. and half-brothers of Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Bacoor (Cavite) Mayor Stike Revilla.

Sen. Bong Revilla Jr. and the entire Revilla clan were shocked upon learning of the alleged involvement of another member of the family in the murder of Ram and called on authorities to ensure that their investigation would result in true identification of true perpetrators of the crime.

In a statement, the senator also on Tuesday said that they could not believe the latest breakthrough in the case of his half-brother wherein investigators were also considering Joseph as a suspect in the murder.

“This is a tragic death made even more tragic by the fact that a family member is being implicated,” Revilla added as he made it clear that whoever was behind the crime should be made answerable.

The family called on Task Force Revilla “to make sure that the result of the investigation must not lead to irreparable damage to the innocent, especially to their family members.”

Ram, 22, was stabbed and shot dead by the suspects who were wearing bonnets in his house at BF Homes Parañaque sometime after 11 p.m. on October 28.

Ram’s girlfriend, who was with him when the incident happened, was also shot in the face and shoulder but survived the attack.

She is now recuperating at the intensive care unit of the Asian Hospital in Alabang, Muntinlupa City (also in Metro Manila).

Chief Inspector Enrique Sy, the head of Task Force Revilla, said that the girlfriend remained under intensive care but has given a statement to investigators.

Earlier, Sy said that based on initial investigation, it appeared that there were eight people in the killing of Ram even as he refused to name the mastermind, pending the filing of proper charges.

A witness, he added, claimed that the eight were guns-for-hire and planned the killing for at least a month.

“Ang ating witness na kasama doon sa stage ng planning kasama siya pero di kasama sa pag-execute ng plan (Our witness joined the planning but he was not among those who executed the plan),” Sy said during a radio interview.

He added that the mastermind behind the killing was not that well-known.

Police are still tracking down three more suspects in the slaying of Ram.

Ram Revilla’s interment was set for today. From: Manila Times