We live in a world that is getting more and more complicated.
Breakthroughs in technology enable us to do a lot of things, which we haven’t imagined possible before. Innovation has pushed people to come up with inventions to help us deal with the times.
More significantly, relationships have also evolved. Because of the Internet and the social network, our world has become smaller. We now have the ability to interact with as many people as we want. We also have the ability to communicate as fast as we can to other people.
But with all the tools and gadgets that are now available and even the new kinds of relationships we have formed with other people, we still come back to our families as the basic structure of our social lives.
As young children, we fully depend on our parents. They are our providers. Brothers and sisters are our first best friends. We draw strength from the love and support of our family. The trusts formed in our familial relationships are still sacred.
We know that the whole world can forsake us, but not our family.
This is why the murder of Ramgen Revilla has attracted so much attention. The mere thought that your brother and sister, your own flesh and blood, have conspired to have you killed seems mind-boggling and simply unnatural.
But as we all now know, the primary suspects in his case are his brother Ramon Joseph and sister Ma. Ramona.
The circumstances that they found themselves after the crime have cast doubts on their spotlessness.
The statement of Ram Revilla’s production assistant Ronaldo Ancajas is a blow to Ramona’s virtue. Ancajas, who was in Ram’s house that night, said that through his window, he saw Joseph and Ramona casually leaving the house on foot. The BF Homes security guard corroborated this claim.
These statements were in contrast to that of Ramona’s who told the police she was kidnapped by the killers and was eventually dropped off in front of a Las Piñas mall.
After admitting that she lied about her alleged kidnapping, Ramona flew out of the country, reinforcing the opinion that her flight is a sign of guilt.
The statements of other witnesses and other suspects also point to the siblings as mainly responsible for Ramgen’s death. Some suspects even claimed that the whole family, including mother Genelyn Magsaysay, knew of the plan to kill Ramgen.
This is very astonishing. I can imagine many people shake their heads with disbelief. But the sad thing is that many have come to realize that it is now plausible. We are beginning to have a glimpse of the relationship dynamics inside the family.
The reported intrigues and resentments inside the household make murder probable. The dysfunction in the family is rife. It appears Ramgen paid the price with his life.
How do you protect yourself from the harm that your family can do to you? I’d say, you can’t.
We have this bond within the family that makes us at our most vulnerable state. If someone breaks the love and trust in the circle, we don’t have any choice but to take the consequences. It’s just a matter of time. Just like Ramgen did.
With strangers and even friends, we know how to protect ourselves. But with our family, we become easy targets. That is why the unkindest cut comes from your loves ones.
Marc Antony, in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, said Brutus’s stabbing of Caesar is the unkindest cut of all. Marc Antony was not only referring to the stabbing but the treachery that came with it. Brutus is Caesar’s friend and his action is simply inhuman and unnatural.
Paranaque police chief Senior Superintendent Billy Beltran said that when the police was starting to piece all the information together on Ramgen’s case, he felt so sad that everything points to family members being behind it.
“Nakakalungkot po talaga na talagang nagli-lead po doon sa close family members (It is very unfortunate that everything is leading to close family members),” said Sr. Supt. Billy Beltran.
I will pose the question again: How do you protect yourself from the harm that your family can do to you? I still think you can’t.
