Former Medellin mayor Ricky Ramirez to be laid to rest today

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Slain former Medellin mayor and Councilor Ricardo “Ricky” Ramirez will be laid to rest on Monday afternoon, June 24, 2019.

Ramirez’ family reiterates their call to let them grieve in private for the demise of the head of their family.

Medellin Planning Officer Giles Villamor, a trusted man of Ramirez, urged the public to “respect the family’s request for privacy in this time of grief.”

He said that the family will issue an official statement soon.

Read more: Former Medellin mayor Ricky Ramirez shot dead inside hospital room

“The family of the late Mayor Ricky Ramirez is requesting the media not to cover the burial rites today. They are also requesting the public to refrain from taking pictures and videos,” Villamor said.

Ramirez’ remains will be brought to the Santo Niño Parish in Barangay Poblacion, Medellin for the Requiem Mass, which is scheduled at 11 am. He will be laid to rest at the Queen City Memorial Garden at 3:30 p.m.

The family has provided three buses to accommodate townfolks who wish to pay their last respects to the former town official. 

Read more: Marquez: Ramirez killed two months before his scheduled release from detention

The convoy going to Queen City Memorial Garden in Cebu City will leave from Medellin at 12 noon.

Ramirez was shot dead by a group of about 15 armed men inside his room at the Bomedco Medical Center in Barangay Luy-a Medellin on Tuesday evening, June 18, 2019.

Read more: Medellin town hall flag at half-mast as colleagues, supporters grieve Ramirez’s death

Ramirez, 55, was in hospital arrest following the confiscation of unlicensed firearms during a raid conducted by operatives of the Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB) of the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) in his home in July 2017. He was due for release in two months. /bmjo