QC court dismisses case over custody of Iggy Arroyo’s body

MANILA, Philippines—A Quezon City court has officially terminated a case involving the body of the late congressman Ignacio Arroyo Jr.’s after his estranged legal wife and his partner agreed to settle their dispute over the wake and funeral arrangements.

Judge Eleuterio Bathan of Regional Trial Court Branch 92 issued the three-page order dismissing the urgent petition that wife Alicia Rita Arroyo filed against Grace Ibuna for custody of her husband’s remains.

The court terminated the case after the parties submitted a compromise  on Thursday morning which detailed the schedule of the late solon’s funeral and wake.

The document did not specify the coordinators for the various locations of Arroyo’s wake, namely  in the Arroyo family home in La Vista, Quezon City, the conjugal residence he had shared with his estranged wife, also in La Vista, and Bacolod City.

In his order, Bathan directed the parties to follow the agreement and ordered the termination of the case.

Part of the compromise was an agreement that both parties would jointly move for the dismissal of Aleli’s suit against Ibuna and Arroyo’s daughter from an earlier marriage, Bianca.