Jamby insists rich aunt will falsified

MANILA, Philippines – Opposition Sen. Jamby Madrigal accused her sister and cousin of forging the last will and testament of their late aunt, Doña Consuelo Madrigal-Collantes.

Madrigal maintained the will had been forged to make it appear that her sister Maria Susana Madrigal-Eduque and cousin Gisela Montinola would inherit their late aunt’s wealth.

Madrigal insisted her aunt’s foundation should be the beneficiary of the estate.

“A large portion of my aunt’s assets was to be donated to her foundation,” Madrigal told reporters after attending a hearing on her motion for intervention in the probate proceedings at the Makati City regional trial court (RTC) yesterday.

Aileen Lerma, spokesperson for the Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc and De Los Angeles Law Office representing Eduque and Montinola, said the senator has no personality to intervene in the case.

“Senator Madrigal can no longer question the due execution and validity of the will. The court has already determined that the signature of Doña Chito was not forged,” she said.

The Consuelo Madrigal Foundation, founded in 1997, helps poor families by providing scholarship grants and housing benefits for the underprivileged.

Her estates include three properties in the plush Forbes Park in Makati City, a property in Ayala-Alabang, and a 37-hectare parcel of land in Calatagan, Batangas.

Madrigal maintained her aunt would not have excluded the foundation in her will since she cares very much for it and those she helps.

“If the poor get punished for stealing from the rich, why can’t the rich get punished for their wrongdoing? What Mrs. Eduque and Mrs. Montinola did was unforgivable since the poor are the ones who should gain. This will was not what my aunt wanted,” she said.

During the probate proceedings, Makati RTC Judge Oscar Pimentel questioned the attendance of Madrigal through lawyer Ernesto Francisco Jr.

Pimentel said lawyers should not represent the contending parties in the probate proceedings since the executors of the will have not yet been decided or determined by the court.

Madrigal had filed a motion to intervene in the probate proceedings, claiming her late aunt’s last will and testament should be declared null and void, citing alleged “serious irregularities,” which include allegedly forged signatures.

The senator claimed many other Madrigal relatives were surprised by the exclusion of the foundation as the principal beneficiary.

“A cursory examination of the alleged signatures of the deceased… will clearly show that they appear to be different from one another,” Madrigal said. – With Aedrianne Acar, Valerie Alonzo