Two charged for making "false statements"

CEBU, Philippines - The wife of a former stockholder of a Mandaue-based company and her lawyer are facing perjury and/or false testimony charges for allegedly telling the court that all incorporators of the company are all dead despite the fact that they are still alive. 

Businessman Kerwin Lim and legal counsels Emmanuel Seno and Joel Seno filed the complaint against Maria Paz Lim and Rosario Paypa before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office on behalf of Glory Commercial Company, Incorporated.

Maria Paz is the wife of Henry Lim Ormoc, now deceased, who used to be a minority stockholder of the company. Paypa, on the other hand, was reportedly appointed by Maria Paz as her attorney-in-fact to represent her in the reconstitution of the certificates of title of properties reportedly owned by the company.

Lim, the company’s current vice president, alleged that Maria Paz and Paypa issued false testimonies in court just so they would be issued a new owner’s duplicate certificate of title for Lot No. 7496-A, which consists of 656 square meters covered by TCT No. T-36776 and Lot No. 7497, which consists of 315 square meters covered by TCT no. T-36775, both located in Cebu City.

Lim alleged that during her testimony in court, Paypa claimed that Maria Paz Lim is the owner of the said properties and that Glory Commercial is allegedly owned by the family of Maria Paz by virtue of her husband’s declaration in his last will and testament.

Paypa allegedly also told the court that the corporation no longer exists and its incorporators are already dead. She allegedly further told the court that the original TCT’s were lost in the possession of Maria Paz.

Indeed, on April 15, 2008, Regional Trial Court Branch 5 Judge Douglas Marigomen directed the Register of Deeds of Cebu City to issue to Maria Paz a new owner’s duplicate copy of the TCT’s, and declared the original copy as null and void in view of the issuance of the new owner’s duplicate certificate of title.

Lim said these statements given to court are false because the company is owned by several stockholders, not by Maria Paz or her last husband, and that the company’s incorporators - namely Lim Teck Chuan, president, and Eng Chong Leonardo, treasurer - are still “very much alive.” 

Lim also disputed Paypa’s alleged statement that Maria Paz has been authorized by the corporation to dispose of its properties.

“The corporation is the registered owner of the said properties and the corporation never lost or destroyed and are all the time, in the possession of the corporation since the time the properties were purchased up to the present…the corporation never gave anybody an authority to sell the property to anybody ever since,” Lim’s six-page affidavit reads.

Joel, one of Lim’s lawyers, said they will be filing an appeal for the Court of Appeals to annul the judgment of the RTC and to further annul the newly-issued duplicate certificate of title.

Seno said Maria Paz allegedly simply issued an affidavit of loss and that Lim was reportedly never notified of the court proceedings.

“How can the corporation present its evidences? No one from the corporation is notified about this matter. By just a mere affidavit of loss of Maria Paz Lim and an ex-parte hearing, the court issued such decision,” Seno said.

Seno contended that the case would serve as precedence that anyone can just execute an affidavit of loss and claim ownership of a property.

“Nobody should be allowed to make the courts of justice as their playground for their criminal activities. And that anybody who dared to lie under oath to the courts should be gravely punished so as to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity of our justice system,” Seno said. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/JMO   (THE FREEMAN)