News update New Justice chief to review Ruby Rose murder case

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Monday said she would review the Ruby Rose Barrameda murder case following a meeting with the victim’s family.

“The Barrameda family came to see me because they have a pending MR (motion for reconsideration) because of the exclusion of the uncle from indictment," De Lima told reporters in an interview.

She was referring to shipping magnate Lope Jimenez, who was cleared by former Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera in the murder case.

Lope is the uncle-in-law of Barrameda, whose body was found June last year stuffed inside a steel drum buried at the bottom of Manila Bay. She had been missing since March 2007.

Lope was the owner Buena Suerte Jimenez Fishing and Trading Co. in Navotas, the property where the steel drum containing Barrameda’s body was found.

De Lima said the motion for reconsideration by the Barrameda family was not touched by her predecessor, Alberto Agra.

“The MR was not touched by (former justice secretary Alberto) Agra. It’s now up to me. I asked the panel to give me the records of the case. I want to review it," she said.

Also cleared in the case due to insufficient evidence was Barrameda’s ex-husband, Manuel Jimenez III. His father, Manuel Jr., remained as an accused before the Malabon City Regional Trial Court.

Others accused were Eric Fernandez, Leonard Descalso and Roberto Ponce, who are all at large. Another accused, Manuel Montero, had confessed that he was one of the men who were paid P50,000 each to kill Barrameda on March 12, 2007. He said the order came from Manuel Jr. and his younger brother Lope.

State prosecutors had wanted Montero removed from the list of the accused to become a state witness, but the Malabon RTC Judge Hector Almeyda denied this. De Lima said they still have a pending motion asking the Malabon court to reconsider, saying it was crucial to have Montero as a state witness since he was the lone eye witness to the crime. - KBK