DOJ eyes Ruby Rose slay suspect as state witness

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) said yesterday it is checking whether another suspect in Ruby Rose Barrameda’s 2007 murder, arrested Wednesday, could be another state witness after he backed up the testimony of killer-turned-witness Manuel Montero.  

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the arrest of Norbert Ponce, 48, could be a big boost to their prosecution panel, especially after a setback due to a decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) reversing the ruling of Malabon regional trial court (RTC) approving the bid of Montero to become a state witness.

De Lima welcomed Ponce’s manifestation of his desire to become state witness immediately following his arrest in Cauayan City, Isabela last Wednesday after three years in hiding.

“I asked the handling prosecutors to evaluate if he will qualify as a state witness and if he can be placed under WPP (witness protection program),” she told reporters in an ambush interview in DOJ following a closed-door meeting with the family of Barrameda.

De Lima said she has called the panel to a case conference to discuss how Ponce can be used to strengthen their case after the RTC recalled its order to turn Montero, the self-confessed killer who tagged Barrameda’s husband, Manuel Jimenez III; his father, Manuel Jimenez Jr.; and uncle, fishing magnate Lope Jimenez, into a state witness.

“We will discuss how this (Ponce’s arrest) can trigger a new start in the case. Perhaps the case may proceed because another accused who is not yet arraigned was arrested,” she said.

Barrameda’s family was equally hopeful. “Because of the injunction order of the CA there’s been no hearing for almost one year now. So this is a very good development,” her sister, former beauty queen and actress Rochelle, told reporters after the meeting.

Rochelle said De Lima assured them the case would again be strong despite the setback in the CA once Ponce becomes a state witness.

She said they also asked that Ponce be kept under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation for better security. The DOJ chief approved this request and said a corresponding manifestation would be filed by the panel in the RTC.

Still, Rochelle appealed to authorities to hunt down and arrest Lope and his driver, Eric Fernandez, another accused who remains in hiding.

Upon his arrest, Ponce reportedly admitted to driving the victim from her house in Parañaque to a warehouse in Navotas in 2007, and putting cement in the drum where she was placed. He also claimed he saw the killing, but had no direct participation in it.

Barrameda was reported missing on March 14, 2007 by her family. Two years later, Montero confessed to the killing and identified the others involved in the crime. He also led authorities to her body, which was dumped in the waters off Navotas City inside a cement-sealed container.

In 2010, the DOJ approved the indictment of the Jimenezes, Ponce, Eric Fernandez and Lennard Descalso based on the testimony of Montero, who claimed that Lope ordered the killing of Barrameda upon the instructions of his brother “for bringing shame” to their family.  

Ponce, on the other hand, said Jimenez Jr. allegedly masterminded the killing. – With Raymund Catindig