In a decision promulgated on Aug. 15, acting presiding Judge Edwin Larida Jr. of the Malabon Regional Trial Court Branch 170 dismissed the parricide case against Barrameda’s estranged husband, businessman Manuel Jimenez III, for lack of probable cause. On July 10, the court junked the murder case against the victim’s father-in-law Manuel Jimenez Jr., his brother Lope, Lennard Descalso, Robert Ponce and Manuel Montero, the man who led authorities to the location of Barrameda’s remains. The court said the prosecution failed to establish the defendants’ direct participation in the murder. The murder of Barrameda has been scrutinized by the Department of Justice, Office of the President, Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, all of which upheld the findings of probable cause. The Malabon judge “turned a blind eye” on the previous resolutions affirming the parricide case against Jimenez, according to the motion.

Source: Philippine Star September 30, 2019 15:56 UTC