MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld with finality the indictment of the husband of Ruby Rose Barrameda, Manuel Jimenez III, for her killing in 2007.
In a three-page resolution released yesterday, the former special 16th Division affirmed its decision in December last year giving the Department of Justice (DOJ) the go signal to prosecute Jimenez for parricide.
It denied the appeal of Jimenez and his argument that the withdrawal of consent and testimony of supposed state witness Manuel Montero warrants the dismissal of the case against him.
“It is settled that a recantation does not necessarily cancel an earlier declaration. As with any other testimony, it is subject to the test credibility and should be received with caution... No rule or doctrine requires previous testimony to be presumed false merely because a witness now says so,” read the ruling penned by Associate Justice Pedro Corales.
Barrameda, sister of former beauty queen and actress Rochelle Barrameda, disappeared in March 2007. Her body was found two years later stuffed in a drum in the waters off Navotas City.
Aside from her husband, also charged for Barrameda’s death were her father-in-law, Manuel Jimenez Jr.; Manuel Jr.’s brother, Lope Jimenez; and their alleged henchmen Eric Fernandez, Robert Ponce and Lennard Descalso.