Actress Janelle Manahan, Ram Revilla's girlfriend, was released from the Asian Hospital Medical Center in Alabang on November 29, after a month of recuperating, PEP.ph reports. She'd had facial reconstruction surgery done after the gun shot wounds she sustained on the night of Ram's murder.
To protect Janelle, who will be giving her sworn testimony to the court on December 2, the police had her transferred to a safehouse along with her family. News anchor Ted Failon interviewed Janelle via phone patch on TV Patrol on November 30, and despite still having trouble speaking, she recounted what happened that night.
Janelle said Ramona "Mara" Bautista, Ram's sister and one of the suspects in the case, was with them in the room five minutes before the gunman came in. "Kumatok lang po si Mara (Mara just knocked)," she is quoted as saying on PEP.ph. "May hinihingi po siyang video, yung video message niya [Ramgen] po para sa kapatid nila na nasa PMA [Philippine Military Academy sa Baguio]. (She was asking for Ramgen's video message for their sibling in the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio.)"
When the masked gunman appeared, he stayed in the doorway and shot Janelle first. "Tapos po, hindi ko na po nakita yung pangyayari kasi po nakatungo lang ako kasi nagulat ako na nabaril ako. (Then I didn't see what happened next because I was just looking down. I was surprised that I'd gotten shot.)"
Janelle added that Ram asked her if she knew who the masked man was. "Tapos after po noon, sobrang tahimik lang po. Naririnig ko lang po na parang nanlalaban si Ramgen. The whole time po, nandun po si Ramona kasama ko po. (Then after that, it was quiet. I could just hear Ramgen trying to fight back. The whole time, Ramona was with me.)"
After the incident was over, Janelle became dizzy and fell to the floor. She added that Ram was able to walk out of the room despite being wounded.
At this point in the interview, Jay Ruiz, the reporter who was with her, took over because she was having trouble speaking. He reiterated that Janelle's testimony would show the inconsistencies in Ramona Bautista's statements. Jay said Janelle felt confused because she asked Ramona to call for help several times, but nothing happened. In the end, Janelle had to force herself to do it.
"Ang mabigat pa nito, Ted, lumalabas na buhay pa pala si Ramgen nang dalhin nila sa ospital dahil ilang beses pa niyang, dalawang beses pa niyang tinawag ang pangalan ni Janelle (What makes it worse, Ted, is that it looks like Ramgen was still alive when they brought him to the hospital because he was able to call out Janelle's name twice)," Jay revealed.
Janelle tried to speak over the phone line to add to this statement, but because her voice was weak, Jay continued her testimony. "Ang sinasabi [ni Janelle], kung nadala lamang si Ramgen nang mas mabilis sa ospital, baka ngayon ay buhay pa rin si Ram. Dahil nga buhay pa siya. Nag-aagaw-buhay pa siya nung nadala siya sa ospital at nakakausap pa ni Janelle that time. (What Janelle is saying is that if Ramgen had been brought to the hospital more quickly, perhaps he could still be alive now. Because at that time, he was still alive. He was fighting for his life when he was brought to the hospital, and he was talking to Janelle.)"
For more on this story, check out these articles on FN:
(Photo of Ram Revilla courtesy of Ram Revilla's Facebook page; photo of Janelle Manahan courtesy of PEP.ph)
