Probers look at another mastermind in DFA exec’s murder

Refusing to swallow the confession of one of the suspects in the killing of senior diplomat Alicia Ramos, investigators are focusing on the possibility that the real mastermind is still at large.

"We are eyeing another mastermind in the killing. But we don’t want to reveal it until coordination with other government agencies bears fruit," one of the police investigators revealed yesterday.

He said none of his colleagues consider the case to be closed, despite the admission of suspect Robert Lumagui.

Lumagui had claimed the victim’s eldest sister, Ester Ramos-Bailey, ordered the break-in that led to the death of Alicia.

The investigator described Lumagui’s confession as "unbelievable."

"Under the normal situation, someone wouldn’t believe somebody like Ester, who as been in and out of the hospital for psychiatric problems," would order the break-in. "We think Lumagui’s claim was just an afterthought to extricate himself from the crime," the source explained.

This developed as Senior Superintendent Asher Dolina, National Capital Region-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (NCR-CIDG) police director, said Lumagui could not become a state witness.

"Under the law, a state witness is somebody, who is least guilty and in the case of Lumagui, he is not (least guilty). It was he who planned the break-in and gave instruction to other companions. He is one of the prime suspects," Dolina said.

Dolina said Joel Ablay, one of the principal suspects, could possibly qualify as a state witness since he merely acted as a lookout.

Ablay, along with Michael Cenil and Jun Maricar, were allegedly recruited by Lumagui to harass the Ramos sisters. The suspects proceeded to kill Ramos and conduct the robbery.

Lumagui had claimed Bailey merely wanted to get even with her sister for refusing to allow her to handle her own money.

He said Bailey’s late husband was an American and a former United States military officer. He claimed Bailey needed money because she frequently stays at St. Claire Hospital "for one week or two" to undergo treatment for a psychiatric problem.

Lumagui claimed to have been "close" to the Ramos sisters and a childhood friend of Bailey’s sons Stewart and Jessie.

He was also familiar with the Ramos residence because the sisters had hired him as a handyman on several occasions.

He added that Bailey conceptualized the plan just before Christmas last year.

A week before the break-in, Lumagui claimed he wanted to warn Ramos but three men accosted him and threatened to kill his children if he would not push through with Bailey’s plan.

Lumagui said she had also threatened to recruit someone else "but (they) would implicate me no matter what happens."

Against his will, Lumagui confessed that he recruited the trio to harass Ramos.

Lumagui earlier surrendered to Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, claiming his conscience had bothered him. He had been hiding in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija.

Dolina, on the other hand, announced the CIDG would be turning over the suspects to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) along with all the evidence of the case.

The NBI is now the lead government agency handling the case following the arrest of Ablay. The NBI earlier stated they would consider Lumagui to be a state witness under the Justice Department’s witness protection program.

Under its amended definition, a suspect can enter the program so long as he or she is not the guiltiest party, the NBI said.

Sources at the NBI said they are still hunting down three other suspects, including Maricar and a woman.