MANILA, Philippines—The tug-of-war in London over the remains of Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo allegedly boils down to a fight over who gets the fortune he left behind.
Lawyer Lorna Kapunan, counsel of Arroyo’s legal wife Alicia “Aleli” Arroyo, claimed that Grace Ibuna, Arroyo’s companion of four years, had come out with documents showing the congressman’s last will, not only to prove that she has sole right over his body but also his assets.
“Ibuna betrays her real intentions when she produced in the UK court documents, purportedly signed by Congressman Iggy naming her as the beneficiary of all his assets, excluding the legal wife and (his) three daughters” said Kapunan in a text message to the INQUIRER.
Kapunan claimed that the UK court apparently was not satisfied with the documents provided by Ibuna to facilitate the release of Arroyo’s body from the funeral parlor.
Ibuna was at the lawmaker’s bedside when he was taken off life support on Jan. 26 just hours after suffering a heart attack.
Arroyo was in London seeking treatment for cirrhosis of the liver.
“We have been reliably informed that Grace Ibuna, for insufficient evidence, was not able to get a court order granting her application for release of Iggy’s remains to her. The UK Court ordered Ibuna and the parties to submit more documents to the court on February 13, 15 and 17 and to present (via teleconference) an expert on Philippine law in the next hearing on February 20,” said Kapunan.
Last week, Kapunan accompanied Aleli in the latter’s futile attempt to bring home the remains of Arroyo, the youngest sibling of Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, husband of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Although Aleli and Arroyo separated in 2005, the couple’s marriage has not been annulled, according to Kapunan.
Aleli and Arroyo have a 14-year-old daughter, named Alelu.
Kapunan said that under Philippine law, the legal wife has primary right over the death of her husband, ahead of his children, parents and siblings.
She said that she has advised Aleli not to participate in the proceedings because “the UK court has no jurisdiction over Philippine citizens [or] competence over Philippine law.”
With the legal actions taken by Ibuna to assert her right over Arroyo, Kapunan said that the businesswoman should shoulder all the blame for the continued delay in the repatriation of the lawmaker’s remains.
“The legal wife, Alicia, just wants to bury him in peace,” said Kapunan.
Iggy’s brother, Jose Miguel “Mike’’ Arroyo, claimed he has heard little from the proceedings in London since getting a text message from Bianca, who told him that her father’s body would be brought to the country within this week. Bianca is the lawmaker’s daughter by his first wife Marilyn Jacinto. Arroyo’s marriage to Jacinto has been annulled.