Lawyer files falsification rap: Wesy cannot be pa to twins

A scion of a wealthy family in Cebu who is currently at loggerheads with her father and family members was charged with falsification of public documents after claiming to be the father of a pair of twins born two years after her sex transplant.

A Manila-based lawyer filed two counts of falsification of public documents against Wesy Quisumbing, which is now pending before the Provincial Prosecutor's Office. The lawyer alleged that Wesy claimed to be the father of fraternal twins.

Lawyer John Vincent Ocampo, in a complaint filed last week, said that Quisumbing made untruthful statements when she executed an affidavit on May 27, 1998 before the Municipal Civil Registrar of Consolacion, Cebu for the delayed registration of birth and application for the issuance of birth certificates of the twins allegedly born on April 11, 1998.

Ocampo said he came to know about the criminal act of Quisumbing last month when he worked as assisting counsel of Lawyer Raymond Fortun in connection with the cases filed by the respondent against lawyers Katrina Legarda and Iris Bonifacio.

Legarda and Bonifacio, who were former lawyers of Quisumbing, were sued by the latter for allegedly squealing on her business "secrets" and "list of assets".

Ocampo said it is impossible for Quisumbing to have impregnated the mother of the twins, Concepcion Bijuan, sometime in 1997 because Quisumbing underwent a permanent sex change surgery in 1996, which means that the male genitalia including the scrotum and testicles were surgically removed and replaced with that of a female.

"It would have been physically and biologically impossible for respondent Quisumbing to have impregnated, using his own sperm, a certain Concepcion Bijuan sometime in 1997 and to subsequently claim to be the father of the resultant offsprings," Ocampo said in his affidavit.

Ocampo said the testimonies of doctors Grace Uy, Romeo Cañete and Ramon Aballe during the petition that Quisumbing filed earlier to correct the entries in her certificate of live birth, changing her gender from male to female would prove it.

Ocampo said Quisumbing clearly violated Article 172, in relation to Article 171, of the Revised Penal Code when he made untruthful statements, which allegedly have caused damage to the integrity of public records and to the State, as well as to her own relatives whose civil rights have been prejudiced by the false and malicious institution of heirs.

It was not known why Quisumbing presented herself as the father of the twins because her lawyer Paris Real refused to comment on the case. In a brief interview with Real last night, he said that they have not received a copy of the complaint yet. Real however promised to answer questions from the media regarding the case as soon as he receives a copy of the complaint.

Quisumbing is embroiled in a court battle with family members because of her removal in 2002 as CEO of the family-owned business. She filed a civil case against her parents Norberto and Britta on December 2, 2005 including her former lawyers, Legarda and Bonifacio.

Other defendants in the lawsuit were her siblings Ma. Regina Alvarez, John Quisumbing, Johanna Lourdes Rama, and Elizabeth Quisumbing, and Eric Borja, a top official of the Norkis Group. Quisumbing assailed her removal as president and chief executive officer of Norkis Trading Co.

In her petition, Quisumbing claimed that her former lawyers provided information to Margaret Nonato, head of the auditing firm hired by the Quisumbing family. The findings of the audit report resulted in her dismissal as president and CEO of Norkis Trading.

Quisumbing is suing her parents for P1 million in moral damages and is demanding reinstatement to her position as director and CEO of Norkis Trading Co.