Charges of graft, qualified theft and falsification of public documents have been filed before the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) against the head of the Registry of Deeds (RD) of Angeles City and several private individuals in the alleged illegal transfer of the titles to over 50 hectares of land valued at about P75 million.

The complaint filed by Rightland Corporation claimed that the 30 titles to its land holdings in Sta. Catalina in Angeles City have been “anomalously and illegally” transferred and issued in the name of Fog Horn, Inc.
Rightland said it discovered the transfer upon verification with the Registry of Deeds of Angeles City sometime in June 2019.

It told the OMB that as rightful and registered owner of the 50-hectare property, it “has not sold, assigned, transferred or otherwise disposed of the real properties.”

“In fact, the Transfer Certificates of Title (TCTs) of these real properties are still in the possession of Rightland,” it said.

“The spurious transfer and registration of the referred real properties to Fog Horn, Inc. are anomalous and outright illegal,” it alleged.

Named respondents in the complaint were lawyer Bayani Maniquiz, head of RD in Angeles City and other unidentified RD officials and employees.

Sixteen other private individuals were also named in the complaint.  Rightland identified them as Hanson G. So, Efren Balledos, Betalyn Gutierrez, Marilou Pe, Luis N. Yu Jr., Mariano D. Martinez, Linda B. Martinez, Carolina Eloisa R. Yu, Maryann T. Turan, Mariano D. Martinez, Willibaldo J. Uy, Richard L. Haosen, Alexander Ace S. Sotto, Arlene C. Keh, Anthony Vincent S. Sotto, Ian Norman E. Dato, and Grace E. Yuson.

Efforts to contact any of the individual respondents, including the head of the Angeles City RD, were futile.  It was not known immediately if they have filed their counter-affidavits to the complaint or what action the OMB has done.

The complaint stated that “So, Balledos, Gutierrez and Pe claimed and misrepresented themselves to be directors and officers of Rightland even if they knew that they are not the legitimate directors and officers of Rightland.”

“Respondents Yu, Martinez Jr., Linda, Carolina, Turan, Martinez, Uy, Haosen, Sotto, Keh, Anthony, Dato and Yuson, who were all directors of Fog Horn at the time of the supposed transaction, participated in this unlawful taking because it was impossible for them not to know that the sale transactions were anomalous,” it said.

It also said that “respondent So was an officer of Rightland at the time of the spurious transactions, being its chairman of the board.  However, taking advantage of his position at the time as such chairman of the board and with grave abuse of confidence… respondent So criminally schemed to unlawfully take control of Rightland and its assets by constituting a new but illegitimate board without any authority to do so.”

“Respondent… could not have caused the cancellation of Rightland’s TCTs over the properties without the indispensable cooperation of respondent Atty. Maniquiz and his minions at the Registry of Deeds of Angeles City because the Duplicate Originals of Rightland’s TCTs are still in possession of its legitimate board,” it said.

“Worse, Atty. Maniquiz… unjustifiably refused to issue copies of the supposed Deeds of Sale covering the properties between Rightland and Fog Horn,” it claimed.

“Evidently, they prevent and frustrate efforts of Rightland to recover its TCTs or the proceeds of their supposed sale,” it also claimed.

Thus, Rightland said in its complaint that Maniquiz and the other respondents should be charged criminally with violations of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, qualified theft, and falsification of public documents.