Ortigas heiresses seek inheritance share

MANILA, Philippines — Two members of the landed Ortigas clan are bent on recovering  their rightful share of the  inheritance left by their grandmother, Remedios Ortigas.

In a statement,  sisters Edwina Michelle and Francesca Litton Ortigas said they would present evidence before the San Juan City Regional Trial Court to contest the estate inventory which they deemed was grossly understated.

“This will include evidence on properties that were excluded from the inventory, and those which were transferred to our uncles and aunts to our exclusion, prior to our grandmother’s death,” the sisters said.

The heiresses claimed that majority of their grandmother’s estate, including shares in OCLP, were transferred to the other five heirs - Victoria Ortigas-Arando, Francisco “Paqui” Ortigas III, Eduardo Ortigas, Fernando “Nando” Ortigas and Remedios “Nenuca” Ortigas-Luzuriaga.

According to the Litton-Ortigas sisters, there will be hearings on Feb. 15 and March for the administrator Fernando Ortigas to present the inventory of estate properties and the supporting evidence.  Other hearings were set on April 26, May 10, and May 24 this year.

“We intend to fully oppose the inventory submitted by the administrator, as well as FOSI’s supposed claim.  The court previously allowed us to depose our uncle Eduardo Ortigas.  We are preparing to depose him, and intend to do the same to all our other uncles and aunts,” Litton-Ortigas sisters said. 

The Litton-Ortigas sisters felt robbed of their share of the inheritance due their father, the late Jose Miranda Ortigas, one of the six children of the Ortigas matriarch and renowned philanthropist Francisco Ortigas Jr. 

The heiresses claimed  that their grandparents were among the biggest shareholders of the Ortigas & Co. Ltd. Partnership (OCLP), a property firm which owns the Greenhills Shopping Center, Ortigas Center, Tiendesitas, Frontera Verde, Valle Verde and Greenmeadows.

Documents show that the Litton-Ortigas sisters were left out of the extrajudicial settlement of the estate of Remedios, who died in 2012 without leaving a valid will.

In April 2013, the Litton-Ortigas sisters instituted an intestate case for administration of the estate of their late grandmother.  The case has been pending with the San Juan City RTC for five years now.