Jamby attends court hearing on late aunt's fortune

MANILA, Philippines - Senator Jamby Madrigal on Friday accused her relatives of forging her deceased aunt's will to make it appear that she did not leave any fortune to the foundation she established for the poor in 1997. Madrigal said that her aunt, Consuelo "Chito" Madrigal-Collantes, had made it known years ago that most of her wealth will go the Consuelo Madrigal Foundation which provides scholarship and financial assistance to thousands of beneficiaries. "My aunt is not a liar. In 2006, she was telling the people that she will give her estate to the foundation. We were just surprised not that not a single centavo was left to the foundation," Madrigal said in an interview outside the courtroom of Judge Oscar Pimentel of the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 148. "The will we're disputing is not the original will of my aunt. These are not her wishes. Kung masusunod lang kapatid at pinsan ko, lumalabas na pinalalabas nila na masama ang tita ko at walang isang salita sa mahihirap," she added, referring to her elder sister Susana and cousin Gizela Gonzales-Montinola, two of the named heirs in Collantes' last will and testament. Collantes, 88, died on March 24 in her North Forbes Park residence in Makati. She has no child with her husband, former foreign affairs undersecretary Manuel Collantes. Collantes left her fortune to Madrigal's elder sister Susana, a grandchild, grandchild Vicente Gustav Warns, and a niece, Gizela Gonzales-Montinola. She left none for her senator-niece. Accompanied by her lawyer Ernesto Francisco, Jr., Madrigal attended the hearing on the motion she filed last week seeking to suspend the distribution of her aunt's estate. But Aileen Lerma, one of the collaborating counsels for the two executors of the will, said the senator could no longer question the execution and validity of the will when, in September 26, 2006, the court declared it authentic. Collantes, she said, executed her will on March 22, 2006 and filed a petition for probate five days later. "The court ruled that she (Collantes) was of sound and disposing mind, and that she duly and freely executed her will, without duress, fraud and undue influence. Under the law, questions on the validity of her will should have been filed before the judgment," Lerma read from a prepared statement. She said the only remaining action is to distribute the estate in accordance with Collantes' will. "Only those named in her will have the right to benefit. Dona Chito's signature in her will was not forged. These are her wishes. They should be respected," Lerma added. - GMANews.TV