CAAP inspects Parañaque crash site, to check aircraft and pilot records

Aviation authorities on Sunday returned to the site of a deadly plane crash in a Parañaque City subdivision that killed at least 14 people.

The team from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said it plans to retrieve the plane's engine and check plane and pilot records on Monday.

"Tomorrow [Monday] we will start checking the records of the aircraft and of the pilots. After that, we will schedule a press conference," Capt. Amado Soliman of the CAAP Air Accident Investigation Board said in an interview on dzBB radio.

For his part, Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II said the fleet of the aircraft that crashed will be grounded automatically while a probe is ongoing.

"Tulad sa bus o barko kung may naaksidente na isang sasakayan sa isang fleet, sinususpendi o iniinspection ang ibang sasakyan," Roxas said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said at least 13 people were confirmed dead as of Sunday morning.

In its Sunday report, it said the Beechcraft Queen Air two-seater (RPC-834) crashed at Doña Soledad Subdivision in Parañaque City Saturday afternoon.

According to the NDRRMC, the crash affected 20 families or 100 people, mostly children; and damaged 20 houses mostly made of light materials and two school buildings.

The NDRRMC estimated the damage at P6 million.

It also identified seven of the fatalities as:

Capt. Timoteo Albo
Capt. Jessie Kim Lustica
Julius Durado (plane passenger)
Roldan Sabidorian
Maribel Nolasco
Margarita Berdera
James Bryan Ranon

Injured were:

Mary Rose Sabidura, 14
Mark Ryan Sabidura, 12
Madrid Rensel Sabidura, 10
Roldan Sabidura Jr., 6
Abrece Emelita, 12
Nolasco Melvin, 8
Bigay Edna, 47
Kevin John Molina, 11
Rodelyn Molina, 5
Ricky Buton, 30

— LBG, GMA News

source:gmanetwork.com

Aide affirms Ram Revilla’s rift with siblings over money

The personal assistant of slain actor Ramgen “Ram" Revilla, half-brother of Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., has affirmed that there was a rift between Ram and his siblings when Ram was killed inside his Parañaque home last Friday.

In his sworn statement, Ronaldo Ancajas, Ram’s stay-in personal assistant, said the victim and two of his siblings implicated in the slay case—Ramona and Ramon Joseph or RJ—have not been in speaking terms for the past months due to disagreement over money.

“Ang alam ko ay matagal nang may tampuhan sila tungkol sa budget ng bahay dahil si boss Ramgen ang humahawak at sinisiraan daw siya sa daddy nila, at mga ilang buwan din silang hindi nagkikibuan," he said in his sworn statement, a copy of which was obtained by GMA News.

He added that he was with Ram minutes before the killing, but had to go up to his room to take a nap. He said that upon waking up, he saw Ram’s two siblings making their way out of the subdivision where he and Ram live.

“Nakaidlip ako dahil sa pagod at puyat at mga ilang minuto, bigla akong nagising. Pagsilip ko sa bintana ng kwarto ko ay nakita ko si Joseph na naglalakad palabas ng gate ng subdivision. Mga ilang minuto, sumunod naman si Mara (Ramona)," he said.

The aide likewise said that he thought RJ and Ramona were on their way to Baguio City. He added that he only learned about Ram’s killing when police forced him out of the house and brought him to a nearby headquarters.

‘Cover up’

In a report on the shooting incident dated November 1, Parañaque police chief Senior Superintendent Billy Beltran said two of the subdivision’s security guards also spotted RJ and Ramona walking toward the gate after the crime was committed.

He said security guards Joyrex Asimbrado and Niño Tabada saw RJ walking alone and going outside the gate at 10:54 p.m. Friday, and was followed by Ramona minutes after.

The police report added that the one of the gunmen who shot Ram and his girlfriend, Janelle Manahan, wore a Halloween mask, an Army green jacket, and was armed with a handgun with a silencer.

Beltran said in the report that the testimonies from Ancajas and the security guards showed that Ramona “was not telling the truth and tried to make a cover-up" when she claimed that she was kidnapped by her brother’s assailants after the shooting and was later abandoned in Las Piñas City.

Ramona and RJ have already been slapped with murder and frustrated murder complaints for their brother’s killing and the attack on Manahan, respectively. RJ was arrested last Tuesday, while Ramona remains at large after police stopped operations against the suspects due to the filing of the case.

Members of the Revilla clan, including Senator Revilla, however, cast doubts on the results of the police probe, even calling for a reinvestigation of the incident.

Genelyn Magsaysay, mother of Ram, RJ and Ramona, also said her children would not resort to murder to settle their differences. She said she raised them as God-fearing people.
Members of Task Force Ramgen and the Parañaque City police however stood by the results of their probe and maintained that the case is already closed. — KBK, GMA News

source: gmanews.tv