WHAT potion could have passed between the developer of Xavierville Subdivision and his son that even after their deaths, the heirs of the son still pursued a criminal complaint against the dead patriarch?

The Supreme Court the other week threw out four counts of falsification of commercial documents originally filed in January 1999 by Antonio Ramos against his father, Emeterio Ramos Sr., and his trusted assistant.

In addition to Xavierville, the Ramoses during the height of the business powers in the 1960s controlled the (now shuttered) Overseas Bank of Manila and Travellers Life Assurance.

Ramos Sr. passed away in June 1999 at the age of 92, barely six months after the son sued him; it was not clear when his son Antonio, who had acted as Xavierville general manager, died.

But even in their deaths, Antonio’s heirs kept the litigation alive, despite the Quezon City prosecutor having already backtracked and withdrawn the criminal complaint.

Antonio’s heirs—Ma. Margarita Ramos, Antonio Ramos, Ma. Regina Ramos de Dios, Jose Vicente Ramos, Ma. Pomona Ramos Ko Teh and Oscar Emerito Ramos—had hoped to win some properties in North Susana and North Olympic subdivisions in Quezon City that were supposed to have been bequeathed but later taken back by the Ramos patriarch.

To make a long story short, the Supreme Court ruled that the late patriarch and his assistant, Rogelio Escobal, could not be held criminally liable in rescinding the deed of assignment and making alterations on the stock certificates of the family corporation since son Antonio failed to comply with the prestations required of him under the deed of assignment.

Moreover, there was no evidence whatsoever that the assignment of the shares, covering the disputed properties, were ever recorded in the company’s stock and transfer book, the high court noted.