MANILA, Philipines--The executors of the will of the late philanthropist Consuelo "Chito" Madrigal-Collantes opposed Friday the examination of the document for possible forgery, arguing that would be tantamount to "asking an expert to contradict (her own) testimony."

John Gabriel Benedicto, lawyer of the appointed executors of the will, told the court he intended to file his opposition to the request of Sen. Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal to have the disputed will examined by the National Bureau of Investigation.

Madrigal's request was intended to bolster her claim that the will--which left nothing to her and to her aunt's foundation--might have been falsified since it bore a signature supposedly different from her signatures in other legal documents.

No one has advanced a figure on how much is the fortune left behind by Collantes but Madrigal told reporters her late aunt's estate is bigger than the $329-million ZTE National Broadband Network deal.

"You'll be shocked," she said.

Initially, at Friday's hearing, Benedicto wanted Makati City Judge Oscar Pimentel to rule first on a separate motion by Madrigal seeking leave, or court permission, to intervene in the case before ruling on her motion questioning the signature's authenticity.

No legal personality

Benedicto argued that if the motion to intervene was denied, the motion to examine the will would be rendered superfluous, or moot.

Benedicto added that Madrigal, at this point in the proceedings, had no legal personality to question the authenticity of the will.

Madrigal's lawyer, Ernesto Francisco, argued that the examination of the will would "support" their motion to intervene, necessitating the resolution of the former before the latter.

Pimentel asked Benedicto to file his comment to Madrigal's motion within 10 days, and Francisco to file his reply within five.

Madrigal, who attended the 9 a.m. hearing at the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 148, told reporters the other party should not worry about having her late aunt's will examined if they had nothing to hide.

"I'm willing to drop the charges if they can prove that this is my aunt's real signature," she said, adding: "You don't have to be an expert to see that it's not her real signature."

No better authority

She showed reporters blown-up copies of Collantes' supposedly fake signature on her will, and another legal document bearing her "real" signature. She pointed out what she called glaring differences in the signatures, including the loops of certain letters.

Lawyer Aileen Lerma, who spoke for the Benedicto side, said there was no need to examine the will since "there is no better authority to authenticate the will than Doña Chito herself."

She insisted that the will was properly executed by Collantes two years ago, and that the late philanthropist had even put in place measures to prevent anyone from contesting it.

The heirs

Lerma and Benedicto represent Perry Pe and Aurelio Montinola III, the Bank of the Philippine Islands president, who were both named executors of the will.

The childless Collantes died in her North Forbes Park, Makati residence on March 24 and left a fortune of unspecified size to her widower, former Foreign Affairs Minister Manuel Collantes, Jamby's elder sister Susana, a grandchild, Vicente P. Gustav Warns, and a niece, Gizela M. Gonzalez-Montinola.

Collantes left none for her senator-niece.

Madrigal reiterated Friday her previous assertion that she was not contesting the will for her own gain, saying she intended to give everything to the Collantes foundation.