CA junks plea of Vicki Belo's 'ex' for a slice of her fortune

The Court of Appeals (CA) has junked the petition of cosmetic surgeon Jose Santos, a former live-in partner of celebrity doctor Victoria “Vicki” Belo, for a slice of her personal fortune.

The CA’s Twelfth Division affirmed an earlier ruling by Judge Lorifel Lacap of the Regional Trial Court of Pasig City Branch 69 which dismissed the petition by Santos for the lower court to issue a declaration of co-ownership over properties and financial assets of Belo.

The group has evolved into an empire of beauty clinics that offer surgical and non-surgical procedures.

The 16-page appellate ruling against Santos was penned by Associate Justice Ramon Bato Jr.
 
Judge Lacap did not commit grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction when he junked the complaint filed by Santos, according to the CA ruling. Lacap cited the ground of improper venue and unpaid docket fees for dumping the complaint.
 
“As held by the RTC, a cursory reading of the petition for declaration of co-ownership shows that none of the real properties claimed by Santos is found in Taguig City where the RTC of Pasig City (Taguig Station) Branch 69 has jurisdiction,” the CA pointed out.
 
“Hence, the venue in this case was improperly laid and the RTC acted conformably with Section 1(c), Rule 16 of the 1997 Revised Rules of Civil Procedure when it ordered the dismissal of the petition on the ground of improper venue,” the CA ruled.

The provision states that “actions affecting title or possession of real property, or interest therein, shall be commenced and tried in the proper court which has jurisdiction over the area wherein the real property involved, or portion thereof, is situated.”
 
In his petition for co-ownership, Santos claimed he and Belo had an exclusive romantic relationship from 1990 to 2007.
 
Santos claimed he co-owns Belo's money and properties, including shares of stock in the corporations acquired through their joint efforts or with his actual contributions from 1996 to 1997.

However, Santos could not determine the entire composition of their co-owned assets due to his limited access to information, the passage of time since their separation, and the discretion that Belo exercised in the accumulation of the properties.

Santos claimed that when they were still on, Belo was able to open six clinics with his help and guidance; organized four corporations with himself or Belo as major stockholder; and accumulated several properties during their union aside from the clinics, which included a condominium unit, a house and lot, and money in various banks.
 
“As it stands, Santos has not demonstrated any willingness to abide by the rules and to pay the correct docket fees. Thus, for failure by Santos to allege in his petition the value of the real properties, the RTC did not acquire jurisdiction over the same for non-payment of the correct docket fees,”  the CA noted.
 
Concurring with the ruling were Associate Justices Manuel Barrios and Maria Elisa Sempio Diy. – VDS, GMA News