Ramgen, sis argued day before murder

MANILA, Philippines - The day before Ram Revilla (real name Ramgen Jose Bautista) died, the 23-year-old actor allegedly exchanged heated text messages with one of his younger sisters and blamed the sale of a Mitsubishi Strada as the cause of their household woes.

“Galit lang talaga kayo kasi dahil sa Strada (You’re just angry over the Strada),” Ramgen told his sister Ragelyn Gail Bautista, 20. The two are the children of former senator Ramon Revilla Sr. with former actress Genelyn Magsaysay.

A nine-page copy of the messages obtained by The STAR had the names Gail Furuyama and Ramgen. Gail is in a relationship with a certain Hiro Furuyama. A source said these messages were extracted from Ramgen’s cellular phone.

The two initially argued over allowances, Ramgen’s alleged maltreatment of his younger siblings, and why Gail allegedly “badmouthed” the actor before their father over “past” rifts.

Gail denied badmouthing Ramgen before Revilla Sr. and said she just accompanied their younger siblings to their father. Gail added that she had no intention of putting Ramgen in a bad light and merely answered their father’s questions.

“Nagpasama lang sila sa akin at kay Mommy La dahil wala food sila makain sa bahay. Lagi naka-lock. Wala din sila magamit na driver. Ginipit mo kaya sila. Pati driver inangkin mo. Pati pagkain sa bahay, sinolo mo. Kawawa ung mga bata (They asked me and Mommy La to accompany them because there’s no food to eat in the house. Always locked. They also had no driver. You deprived them. You kept the driver and the food to yourself. The children are pitiful),” Gail said.

Ramgen denied being selfish and dared Gail to flesh out these issues in front of their “yaya (nanny)” and their driver. He accused her of badmouthing him to their father, to which she replied that he should examine his behavior toward his younger siblings.

Ramgen defended himself and accused Gail of “aggravating” the situation. In reply, the latter told the young actor to “change.” “Kaya nga ayaw ng mga tao jan sayo sa bahay. Kasi ayaw nila sa ugali mo (That’s why the people at home don’t like you. They don’t like your behavior),” Gail said.

Ramgen advised his sister not to “play innocent,” saying he knew their problem started when he told Revilla Sr. that their younger brother Joseph, 18, sold the family’s Mitsubishi Strada pickup truck for a very cheap price.

Ramgen, apparently to defuse the situation, asked Gail to set a “schedule” for an open forum among their immediate family members “para masabi natin lahat ng tampuhan ng bawat isa sa tin, at maayos na lahat... Nakaka stress Ga (Gail’s nickname) ang away (So we could air our gripes toward one another and fix everything. It’s stressful, Ga, the fights).”

Ramgen was killed the next day, Oct. 28, in their house in BF Homes, Parañaque. Seven people are charged with murder in the crime, including his younger siblings and alleged masterminds Ramon Joseph “Joseph” Bautista and Ma. Ramona “Mara” Bautista.

In an earlier interview with The STAR, Magsaysay stressed that her younger children “love” Ramgen.

“You know, it’s but natural for families to have differences but not to the extent of killing a brother,” she said.