New witness says Ruby Rose supplied drugs to killer

MANILA, Philippines - The camp of fishing magnate and murder suspect Lope Jimenez presented yesterday a new witness who said Ruby Rose Barrameda-Jimenez reportedly supplied drugs to suspect-turned-witness Manuel Montero.

Eddie Abiog, a driver in Buena Suerte Jimenez Fishing and Trading Corp. owned by Jimenez, said Montero killed Ruby Rose, not upon Jimenez’s alleged orders, but because of a personal motive.

In a sworn statement submitted to but supposedly ignored by investigating fiscals at the Department of Justice (DOJ), the defense witness said Montero, whom he considered a close friend, had confessed to him that he had been buying illegal drugs from Ruby Rose.

Abiog said he was asked by Montero in October 2006 to deliver an unknown amount of money inside an sealed envelope to Ruby Rose in BF Homes, Parañaque City and pick up a sealed pack, which he later found out contained ecstasy tablets.

He said he decided to stop the delivery after Montero told him about the illegal drug trade.

“Montero also told me that whenever he and Ruby Rose met… apart from engaging in a drug deal, they would hold pot sessions together until they reach ecstasy,” Abiog alleged in Filipino.

Asked if the “ecstasy” between Montero and Ruby Rose involved a romantic or sexual factor, Abiog said yes.

Abiog said the two only had a falling out when Montero discovered Ruby Rose was cheating him, giving fewer tablets than what he paid for.

“Montero told me that if Ruby Rose continues to cheat him, he would bury her in the ground,” he said.

Abiog, however, admitted that his testimony was based on what Montero allegedly had told him and that he did not have any direct or material evidence to prove his claim.

Asked for a reaction, the Barrameda family challenged Abiog to prove his allegations in court.

“If they have all the evidence, then present them in court and prove their allegations against Ruby. Once it is proven that these are all lies and manufactured then all of them will be behind bars together,” Ruby Rose’s sister, former actress Rochelle Barrameda, warned.

Jimenez’s lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said Abiog’s testimony was submitted to the preliminary investigation at the DOJ, but was supposedly ignored by investigating fiscals led by Senior State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva.

In a press conference, Topacio lamented that the findings of the DOJ and the resolution indicting his client; his client’s brother, Manuel Jimenez II; and other suspects in the killing were a result of “trial by publicity.”

“The problem with our police is that they become very excited when it comes to sensational cases. There is deliberate effort to railroad conviction just to prove that they have accomplished something big and so they could be promoted,” Topacio said.