A.

Basic Principles of Pleading

Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
National Capital Judicial Region
BRANCH 39
Quezon City

HEIRS OF ENRIQUE G. SANTOS

Plaintiffs,

-versus- Civil Case No: Q-87-654321

For: Quieting of Title
and/or Accion
IGLESIA NI CRISTO, Reinvindicatoria
Defendant.
x----------------------------------------------x

COMPLAINT
PLAINTIFF, by the undersigned counsel, to this Honorable
Court, most respectfully pleads, that:
A. THE PARTIES
1. Plaintiff, HEIRS OF ENRIQUE G. SANTOS, namely, Alicia,
Alfredo, Roberto, Enrique and Susan, all surnamed Santos,
and Sonia Santos-Wallin, represented by Enrique G. Santos,
all of legal age, Filipino citizens, and residents of Tandang
Sora, Quezon City.
2. Plaintiff is represented in this action by ENRIQUE G.
SANTOS, one of the children of the late Enrique Santos, of
legal age, married, Filipino citizen, and a resident of
Tandang Sora, Quezon City
3. Defendant, Iglesia ni Cristo, is a religious organization,
formed and organized in the year 1914 as
a unipersonal religious corporation to the United States
administration of the Philippines.
B. THE CAUSE OF ACTION
4. Enrique Santos was the owner of a 936-square-meter parcel
of land located in Tandang Sora, Quezon City covered by
Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. 57272 issued by the
Register of Deeds on July 27, 1961 which cancelled TCT No.
57193-289.
 5. Enrique Santos had been in possession of the owner’s
duplicate of said title and had been in continuous, open,
adverse and peaceful possession of the property.
6. On February 9, 1970, he died and was survived by his wife,
Alicia Santos, and other plaintiffs, who were their children.
Thereafter, plaintiffs took peaceful and adverse possession of
the property, and of the owner’s duplicate of said title.
7. When the Office of the Register of Deeds of Quezon City was
burned on June 11, 1988, the original copy of said title was
burned as well. The Register of Deeds had the title
reconstituted as TCT No. RT-110323, based on the owner’s
duplicate of TCT No. 57272.
8. Sometime in February 1996, plaintiffs learned that
defendant was claiming ownership over the property based
on TCT No. 321744 issued on September 18, 1984 which, on
its face, cancelled TCT No. 320898, under the name of the
Philippine National Bank, which allegedly cancelled TCT No.
252070 in the names of the spouses Marcos and Romana
dela Cruz.
9. They insisted that TCT Nos. 321744, 320898 and 252070
were not among the titles issued by the Register of Deeds of
Quezon City and even if the Register of Deeds issued said
titles, it was contrary to law.
10. Enrique Santos, during his lifetime, and his heirs, after
his death, never encumbered or disposed the property.
11. In 1996, plaintiffs were about to fence the property but
defendant barred them to do so and deprived them of the
final use and enjoyment of their property.

PRAYER
WHEREFORE, it is most respectfully prayed of the Honorable
Court that, after due hearing, judgment be rendered quieting the title
of plaintiffs over and/or recover possession of their said property in
the name of deceased Enrique Santos, covered by said TCT No. RT-
110323(57272) of the Register of Deeds at Quezon City and that:
1. The title of defendant, TCT No. 321744 be ordered
cancelled by the Register of Deeds of Quezon City;
2. The defendant be ordered to pay plaintiffs’ claims for
actual damages in the sum of P100,000.00;
 3. The defendant be ordered to pay plaintiffs’ claims for
compensatory damages in the sum of at least
P1,000,000.00;
4. The defendant be ordered to pay plaintiffs’ claims for
reimbursement of the lawyer’s professional fees consisting of
the aforesaid P50,000.00 acceptance fee and reimbursement
of the said success fee in par. 10 above; and lawyer’s
expenses of P2,000.00 for each hearing in this case;
5. The defendant be ordered to pay expenses and costs of
litigation in the sum of at least P200,000.00.
Other reliefs that are just and equitable in the premises are,
likewise, prayed for.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affix my
signature on this 24th day of October 2001, in City of Quezon,
Philippines.

PETER FRANCIS G. ZAGALA

Counsel for the Plaintiff
ROLL OF ATTORNEY’S NO. 246810
IBP O.R. NO. 054321, 09/19/2009
PTR NO. 0287069; 12/31/2002 PASIG
MCLE COMPLIANCE NO. IV-0182022
2nd Floor M. Rosario Bldg., Alcantara Street,
Pasig City, Metro Manila, 0908-7654-321

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES)

CITY OF QUEZON ) S.S.

VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION

AGAINST FORUM-SHOPPING

I, ENRIQUE G. SANTOS, of legal age, under oath, state that I

am one of the children of the late Enrique Santos and I represent the
heirs of said Enrique Santos who are my co-plaintiffs in the above-
captioned case and that I directed the preparation of the instant
complaint, the contents of which are true and correct to the best of
my knowledge and the attachments are faithful reproductions of the
official copies in my possession.

I hereby certify that I have not commenced any other action or

proceeding involving the same issues in the Supreme Court, the Court
of Appeals, or different Divisions thereof, or any other tribunal or
agency, and to the best of my knowledge, no such action or
proceeding is pending in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or
different Divisions thereof, or any other tribunal or agency, and that I
shall notify this Commission within three days from notice that a
similar action or proceeding has been filed or is pending thereat.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereby affix my signature this 23rd

day of October 2001 at Pasig City, Metro Manila.

ENRIQUE SANTOS
Affiant
Passport No. P0000000A
Issued on 27th of June 2016
Issued at Quezon City

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 23rd day of

October 2001 at Pasig City, affiant exhibiting to me his CTC No.
07303074 issued at Sta. Cruz, Laguna on April 16, 2001.

PETER FRANCIS G. ZAGALA

NOTARY PUBLIC
ROLL OF ATTORNEY’S NO. 246810
IBP O.R. NO. 054321, 09/19/2009
PTR NO. 0287069; 12/31/2002 PASIG
MCLE COMPLIANCE NO. IV-0182022
2nd Floor M. Rosario Bldg., Alcantara Street,
Pasig City, Metro Manila, 0908-7654-321
Doc. No. __321_;
Page No. __54__;
Book No. __VI__;
Series of 2001

B. Captions and Titles

C. Allegations in a pleading

COMPLAINT
 PLAINTIFF, by the undersigned counsel, to this Honorable
Court, most respectfully pleads, that:
A. THE PARTIES
1. Plaintiff, HEIRS OF ENRIQUE G. SANTOS, namely, Alicia,
Alfredo, Roberto, Enrique and Susan, all surnamed Santos,
and Sonia Santos-Wallin, represented by Enrique G. Santos,
all of legal age, Filipino citizens, and residents of Tandang
Sora, Quezon City.
2. Plaintiff is represented in this action by ENRIQUE G.
SANTOS, one of the children of the late Enrique Santos, of
legal age, married, Filipino citizen, and a resident of
Tandang Sora, Quezon City
3. Defendant, Iglesia ni Cristo, is a religious organization,
formed and organized in the year 1914 as
a unipersonal religious corporation to the United States
administration of the Philippines.
B. THE CAUSE OF ACTION
4. Enrique Santos was the owner of a 936-square-meter parcel
of land located in Tandang Sora, Quezon City covered by
Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. 57272 issued by the
Register of Deeds on July 27, 1961 which cancelled TCT No.
57193-289.
5. Enrique Santos had been in possession of the owner’s
duplicate of said title and had been in continuous, open,
adverse and peaceful possession of the property.
6. On February 9, 1970, he died and was survived by his wife,
Alicia Santos, and other plaintiffs, who were their children.
Thereafter, plaintiffs took peaceful and adverse possession of
the property, and of the owner’s duplicate of said title.
7. When the Office of the Register of Deeds of Quezon City was
burned on June 11, 1988, the original copy of said title was
burned as well. The Register of Deeds had the title
reconstituted as TCT No. RT-110323, based on the owner’s
duplicate of TCT No. 57272.
8. Sometime in February 1996, plaintiffs learned that
defendant was claiming ownership over the property based
on TCT No. 321744 issued on September 18, 1984 which, on
its face, cancelled TCT No. 320898, under the name of the
Philippine National Bank, which allegedly cancelled TCT No.
252070 in the names of the spouses Marcos and Romana
dela Cruz.
 9. They insisted that TCT Nos. 321744, 320898 and 252070
were not among the titles issued by the Register of Deeds of
Quezon City and even if the Register of Deeds issued said
titles, it was contrary to law.
10. Enrique Santos, during his lifetime, and his heirs, after
his death, never encumbered or disposed the property.
11. In 1996, plaintiffs were about to fence the property but
defendant barred them to do so and deprived them of the
final use and enjoyment of their property.

D. Verification against forum-shopping

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES)

CITY OF QUEZON ) S.S.
 VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION
AGAINST FORUM-SHOPPING

I, ENRIQUE G. SANTOS, of legal age, under oath, state that I

am one of the children of the late Enrique Santos and I represent the
heirs of said Enrique Santos who are my co-plaintiffs in the above-
captioned case and that I directed the preparation of the instant
complaint, the contents of which are true and correct to the best of
my knowledge and the attachments are faithful reproductions of the
official copies in my possession.

I hereby certify that I have not commenced any other action or

proceeding involving the same issues in the Supreme Court, the Court
of Appeals, or different Divisions thereof, or any other tribunal or
agency, and to the best of my knowledge, no such action or
proceeding is pending in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or
different Divisions thereof, or any other tribunal or agency, and that I
shall notify this Commission within three days from notice that a
similar action or proceeding has been filed or is pending thereat.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereby affix my signature this 23rd

day of October 2001 at Pasig City, Metro Manila.

ENRIQUE SANTOS
Affiant
Passport No. P0000000A
Issued on 27th of June 2016
Issued at Quezon City

E. Judicial Affidavit Rule

Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
 National Prosecution Service
OFFICE OF THE CITY PROSECUTOR
Makati City

ROLANDO T. CUSTODIO Crim. Case No.

_____
Complainant,

-versus- For: ESTAFA in relation

to Sec. 1 of
Presiden-
tial Decree No. (P.D)
1689

ROSARIO BALADJAY, SATURNINO BALADJAY, LITO

NATIVIDAD, RANDY RUBIO, TESS VILLEGAs, OLIVE
MARASIGAN, LORNA PANGAN, CARMEN CHAN, STELLA
ILAGAN and JOHN MUNOZ
Accused.
x--------------------------------------------x

JUDICIAL AFFIDAVIT
(of ROLANDO T. CUSTODIO)

This Judicial Affidavit was taken by Atty. Gabriel J. Uy at his

office at 2nd Floor Trinidad Bldg., 75 P. Domingo Street, Carmona,
Makati City. The questions propounded to the complainant, and the
corresponding answers given, are numbered consecutively below.
This Judicial Affidavit is executed to prove the following, and other
relevant matters:

1. That the accused are officers, employees, and agents of

Multinational Telecom Investors Corporation (Multitel), an
association operating on funds solicited from the public;

2. That the accused are conspiring, mutually helping one another,

and confederating as a syndicate, did then and there, willfully,
unlawfully and feloniously defraud Rolando T. Custodio by
 means of false pretenses or fraudulent acts executed prior to or
simultaneously with the commission of fraud;

3. That on or about February 2001, Rolando T. Custodio learned

about Multitel which pays its investors an interest income of at
least five percent (5%) per month. Enticed with the prospective
returns, he invested the amount of Php 100,000.00 in Multitel
and received monthly interest payments, as promised;

4. That through her representations regarding Multitel's

legitimacy and her assurances as to its profitability, Gladina
Baligad, a counselor of Multitel, convinced Rolando to increase
his investment to Php2,000,000.00.

5. That Gladina then made a more attractive offer, promising an

increased monthly earning of eight to twelve percent (8%-12%)
of his investments, Rolando then decided to invest a total of
Php3,200,000.00;

6. That receipts were issued for every placement that Rolando

made, together with checks, personally signed by Rosario
Baladjay, representing his principal investment;

7. That sometime in October 2002, when Rolando had yet to

receive his interest income for the month, he learned that
Baladjay was under investigation. Knowledge of this prompted
him to call Gladina, who continually assured him that Multitel
would still be able to deliver its promised returns. Nevertheless,
despite Gladina's assurance, Multitel defaulted;

8. Rolando then conducted his own investigation on the matter

and found out that Multitel has no secondary license, issued by
the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to deal in
securities and solicit investments from the general public.

9. That per SEC Advisory, the company and its conduits were not
duly registered and had no juridical personality and authority to
engage in any activity, let alone investment-taking.
 10. That Rolando exerted all effort to recover his investments after
that discovery. He even attended the meetings conducted by
Multitel, the last one of which was held on November 5, 2002.

11. That during the final meeting, Baladjay's co-accused Randy

Rubio, Olive Marasigan, and Tess Villegas, all officers of
Multitel, met with the investors and repeatedly assured him
that Multitel was a legitimate company and that it was merely
organizing its books so as to meet the monthly withdrawals.
Multitel, however, was unable to deliver on the promised
returns.

EXAMINATION

Q1: Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth in this
examination?
A: Yes.

Q2: Are you aware that you may face criminal liability for false
testimony or perjury if you will not tell the truth?
A: Yes.

Q3: Please state your name, age, status, address, and occupation.
A: I am ROLANDO T. CUSTODIO, 39 years old, a resident of 75 P.
Domingo Street, Carmona, Makati City, and a Businessman engaged
in investment in stocks.

Q4: What is your purpose of executing this Judicial Affidavit?

A: To file a formal complaint against ROSARIO BALADJAY,
SATURNINO BALADJAY, LITO NATIVIDAD, RANDY RUBIO, TESS
VILLEGAs, OLIVE MARASIGAN, LORNA PANGAN, CARMEN
CHAN, STELLA ILAGAN and JOHN MUNOZ, all of legal age,
Filipinos and residents of Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City, Metro
Manila, because they defrauded me as an investor.

Q5: How did the accused defrauded you?

A: During the first year of my investment to Multitel, I was able to
receive monthly interest payments. I made several placements
increasing my investments. Receipts were issued for every placement
I made, together with checks signed by Rosario Baladjay. However,
on October of 2002 I learned that Baladjay was under investigation.
Despite such fact, Multitel continually assured me that they would
still be able to deliver its promised returns. Nevertheless, despite the
assurance, Multitel defaulted.

Q6: Will you be amenable that copies of these receipts and checks as
signed by Rosario Baladjay be attached to your Judicial Affidavit to be
marked as Exhibits “A” and “B”, respectively?
A: Yes.

Q7: What are the assurances and representations made by Multitel?

A: They assured me that they will pay 5% interest per month.
Thereafter they made enticing offers which induced me to make
additional investments in Multitel. They also repeatedly assured me
that Multitel is a legitimate company and that they would still be able
to deliver its promised returns despite the fact that Baladjay was
under investigation.

Q8: Were they able to fulfill those assurances and representations?

A: They were able to pay the promised returns from February 2001
to September 2002. However, after that period they defaulted in their
monthly payments. I also found out that Multitel has no license from
SEC to deal in securities and solicit investments from the general
public.

Q9: Did Multitel informed you why did they defaulted in their
monthly payments?
A: Yes. When I attended meetings conducted by Multitel they
repeatedly explained that they were just organizing the books to meet
the monthly payments of returns.

Q10: How much did you invested in the company?

A: I placed Php 100,000.00 as an initial investment. Convinced of
assurances as to its profitability, I increased my investment to
Php2,000,000.00. When Multitel increased monthly earnings from
8% to 12% of the investments, I decided to invest a total of Php
3,200,000.00.

Q11: What was your next course of action?

A: Despite demands and inquiry regarding the payment of my
monthly returns I was not able to recover defaulted payments. This
prompted me to file a case against the officers of Multitel.

Q12: Do you have anything to say?

A: I am requesting the Honorable City Prosecutor that cases for
ESTAFA be filed in court against ROSARIO BALADJAY,
SATURNINO BALADJAY, LITO NATIVIDAD, RANDY RUBIO, TESS
VILLEGAs, OLIVE MARASIGAN, LORNA PANGAN, CARMEN
CHAN, STELLA ILAGAN and JOHN MUNOZ, and they be required
to pay the value of the investment I placed in their company plus
damages and all expenses of filing these cases including attorney’s
fees, appearance fees and other expenses.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature

this 3rd day of September 2020 in Makati City.

ROLANDO T. CUSTODIO
Affiant
Passport No. P0000000A
Issued on 27th of June 2016
Issued at Makati City

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 3rd day of

September 2020, in Makati City, Philippines. I hereby certify that I
have personally examined the affiant ROLANDO T. CUSTODIO, and I
am satisfied that he fully understood the contents of his foregoing
Judicial Affidavit and voluntarily executed the same.

RODRIGO R. GERONIMO
Associate Prosecuting Attorney II

ATTESTATION
 I HEREBY CERTIFY that I have faithfully recorded the
questions I asked and the corresponding answers that the affiant gave
and neither me nor any person then present or assisting me, coached
the affiant regarding the latter’s statement.

ATTY. GABRIEL J. UY
ROLL OF ATTORNEY’S NO. 246810
IBP O.R. NO. 054321, 09/19/2019
PTR NO. 121416; 09/19/2019 BUKIDNON
MCLE COMPLIANCE NO. IV-0182022
2ND FLR. TRINIDAD BLDG., 75 P. DOMINGO ST.,
CARMONA, MAKATI CITY, 0908-7654-321

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 3rd day of

September 2020 at Makati City, Philippines. Affiant Rolando T.
Custodio exhibited to me competent evidence of identity consisting of
his Philippine Passport No. P0000000A.

Doc. No. _____;

Page No. _____;
Book No. _____;
Series of 2020.