By Manuel L. Morato
As we go along in our case regarding the estate of my mother, it seems the longer it takes, the more falsified documents are appearing; and more lies are being said by the defendants.
The latest shocking statements in Court by our youngest brother, 73 years old was when he stated that he bought my mother’s house and three lots, our ancestral home in 1989. What an ugly lie. In 1989, he had nothing to brag about. How could he buy my mother’s properties when in the first place, our mother would never sell anything that is given to her by my father. And for all these decades past, we did not know for he evidently was hiding from us siblings as well; and to think that we live in the family compound next to each other. That, JLM said in a recent hearing we had. Not only that, when he was asked by our lawyer why he demolished the ancestral home of my mother, he said it’s because “my mother told me to build a bigger one.” That’s the farthest from the truth. A bigger what? He kept mum. I have taped the lies he was spewing in Court/s.
Our mother always told me as executor of her Holographic Will, “Hijo, never remove my name in this property. It’s a gift of your father and this house and the three lots in my name; she wanted to stay in her name; “that she will give all her properties she inherited from our father, conjugal property to all my six children. Just never remove the house and lots in my name for it’s a gift to me from your father.”
This is even contained in her Holographic Will; “that we are to preserve the ancestral home wherein we grew up. This property is for all of you to preserve and enjoy.” And aside from that, his group violated Republic Act 10066, that no structure can be demolished 50 years and above. The ancestral home of our parents was constructed in the 1950s, more than seventy years ago.
Did JLM mean that our mother “sold” to him the ancestral home and three lots? On the contrary, my mother had always told me and repeated to my sisters and brothers, never to remove her name. Ang bilin ng aming Ina ay: “Hijo, huwag na huwag ninyo tatanggalin itong bahay at lupa sa pangalan ko. Regalo ng inyong Papa itong bahay at lupa sa akin. Huwag na huwag ninyong tatanggalin sa aking pangalan. Ibibigay ko na sa inyo lahat ang minana ko sa inyong Ama dito sa Pilipinas at sa Spain. Ito na lang bahay at lupa ang iwan ninyo sa pangalan ko.” Lo and behold, JLM did the opposite. He (JLM) made a falsified “donation” of the property in the name of my mother to him. Note, a lawyer friend once told me: “Manoling, kung ipinagmamalaki ng bunsong kapatid mo na idinonate ng inyong Ina ninyo yong ancestral home at lupa kay Jose, bakit niya giniba? Yon pala pag totoo na our mother “donated” her house and lots; once JLM demolished it, the property must go back to my mother’s name. A donated property once demolished, the “donation” ceases to exist and the property goes back to our mother.
Next, he bought it daw. What a liar. JLM always told me that he will make two documents regarding the property of our mother, isang Deed of Donation at isang Deed of Sale kasi he will choose which one will impose lower taxes. Pag malaki ang tax sa “donation,” he will use the “Deed of Sale,” which was as fake as Adam and Eve’s “marriage,” if ever there was one!
In our case in Court, he claimed both “Deed of Donation” and “Deed of Sale.” Which is which? The Deed of Sale akala niya tatanggapin namin? Saan siya kumuha ng pera? Sa personal savings ng aming Ina sa BPI in dollars or peso savings. He made my mother sign in blank short bond papers and JLM typed what he wanted on those blank short bond paper which JLM used for authorization from my mother to withdraw from her dollar and peso saving accounts in the BPI branch along Morato Avenue. Pati thumb mark ng aming Ina tinatanggap nong BPI Manager then na JLM used to brag about him. Good friends daw sila. To this day, he has not accounted for my mother’s bank accounts in pesos and in dollars.
Lately, he used thumb marks of my mother in his falsified documents presented in Court. Why do I say “falsified”? Because we the other 5 siblings were never shown those documents before.
Ang pirming witnesses niya ay ang aming kusinera and others who could not say no to him. Captive witnesses. Two witnesses niya pirma ay ang female secretaries niya whose signatures we cannot tell who they are. No print under of who they are under their signatures. We really do not know the two Delilahs whose signatures always appeared in JLM’s falsified documents. The Court must subpoena them for us to know the two women members of the syndicate.
I must admit that I am rather a naïve person. My friends always told me, why do you trust people? I always said that I trust everybody and treat them as “good” people. My close friends tell me, always think that they are bad before they prove themselves good. Ang sagot ko: I take people at face value for I cannot go through life, thinking that everybody is bad until they prove themselves na masamang tao pala sila.
I cannot go through life thinking that everybody I meet are supposed to be bad. What a way to live that everybody we meet are supposed to be bad. What a terrible and miserable and morbid that could be, suspecting everybody to be bad. It’s so negative to have such an attitude. Treat them well as human beings until they prove themselves otherwise.
My mistake? I always think people I meet are good people until they prove themselves otherwise. It’s so terrible to go through life always thinking that people are basically bad. Ang bigat dalahin sa buhay na maraming masasamang tao. What a horrible life this would be. On my part, as I said, I think of people as good people until they prove themselves otherwise. Then that’s the end of it.
Those who told me not to be too trusting, have proven themselves to me that they are right. Look what our youngest brother did to us together with his cohorts. Now we all suffer because of trusting him. I took him as a good person. He told me lies against our own sisters who allegedly were quarreling with his wife and I believed him. I finally found out everything he was telling me were fabricated aimed at my getting angry with our sisters.
Everything JLM told me were all untrue. I did not know that he was inflicting on us the “divide and rule” theory which he did so well. He made me get angry with my sisters because of his intentional lies to separate me from my three sisters whom he blamed, but I found out were all not true.
I had to ask forgiveness from my sisters for believing on what JLM was telling me. It was meant pala to divide us for he was already taking all the assets of my mother and he needed my support. But I am not the type who would support any wrongdoing. He worked in the mantle of darkness, a dishonest operator. He even told me na “dummy daw siya ni Sonny.”
It now proves that all along JLM was already deceiving our own mother. Lately, I saw that the thumb marks he secretly forced on our mother are different from one document to another. It is so noticeable on eyesight. I don’t even need a magnifying glass to see that the alleged thumb marks are not of my mother. Even my nephews told me “Tio, these thumb marks are different from one document to another.”
As the saying goes: “The truth will always prevail.”
Let me make a statement before God and our people that all the letters I wrote in favor of JLM (or Pepito) I wrote in anger for he asked me to help him for “our sisters…” are quarreling with him and his wife.” He lied. I found out too late that my three sisters did not quarrel with his wife.”
I swear on the Holy Bible that what JLM told me were based on lies and I retract all the letters of support he wanted from me because he and his family were out to take advantage of my mother’s assets and he had to “Divide and Rule” the members of the family for him and his family to take over our inheritance from our mother. Indeed, he and his cohorts did it to us.
Blame their greed to land-grab the assets of our beloved mother. He and his cohorts successfully transferred my mother’s properties to JLM and the three sons of Belmonte.
We are fighting for our rights in Court for he and his cohorts robbed us of our inheritance. Parang siya lang ang anak ng aming Ina. My 3 sisters and I are also compulsory heirs of our mother. JLM is not the only heir of my mother; and the Belmontes are NOT heirs of my mother – not at all.
For comments and suggestions email at mlmorato@yahoo.com