Judge asked to inhibit from Ruby Rose slay case

MANILA, Philippines – A defense lawyer asked yesterday a Malabon judge to inhibit himself from trying the Ruby Rose Barrameda murder case for removing the confessed killer from the charge sheet.

Lawyer Mario Aguinaldo accused Judge Zaldy Docena of Malabon Regional Trial Court Branch 171 of being partial because he allowed accused Manuel Montero to become a state witness.

Docena was a classmate of State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva, a member of the prosecution panel, he added.

During yesterday’s hearing, Docena asked the prosecution to comment on the motion for inhibition, after which he will decide on the issue.

Actress Rochelle Barrameda, sister of Ruby Rose, later told reporters that the motion for inhibition can be considered a delaying tactic of the defense.

However, the case would move on even if last July 30, Docena overturned a ruling of the previous judge who handled the case. Judge Hector Almeyda denied a motion for the discharge of Montero as an accused.

Upon reviewing the case, Docena said Montero appears to be not the most guilty and his statement is necessary in the prosecution of the case.

He said if not for Montero’s extrajudicial confession, “this dastardly act could not have been discovered and would have remained forever an unsolved crime and just part of the crime statistics of this country.”