TITLE: Ventura vs. VenturaCITATION: G.R. No.
L-26306, April 27, 1988N O T E :
APPELLANTS= Maria Ventura- illegitimate daughter of the deceased
GregorioVentura; Miguel Ventura- brother of Maria, son of Gregorio; Juana
Cardona- mother ofMaria, surviving spouse of Gregorio. APPELLEES= Mercedes
and Gregoria Ventura areGregorio’s legitimate children with his former wife, the late
Paulina Sirapliciano but thepaternity of appellees was denied by the deceased in his
will.
FACTS:Gregorio Ventura filed a petition for the probate of his will which did not include
the appellees. Inthe said will, the appellant Maria Ventura, although an
illegitimate child, was named and appointed by the testator to be the executrix of
his will and the administratrix of his estate. Suchwill was admitted to probate.
Thereafter, Gregorio Ventura died. Maria Ventura was appointed
e x e c u t r i x a n d t h e corresponding letters testamentary was issued in her favor.
She submitted an inventory of theestate of Gregorio Ventura. She filed her accounts
of administration which was opposed by thespouses the appellees. Oppositions
assailed the veracity of the report as not reflecting the trueincome of the estate and
the expenses which allegedly are not administration expenses. Mercedes Ventura and
Gregoria Ventura filed a motion to remove the executrix Maria Venturabased on the
following grounds: (1) that she is grossly incompetent; (2) that she has
maliciouslyand purposely concealed certain properties of the estate in the inventory;
(3) that she is merelyan illegitimate daughter who can have no harmonious relations
with the appellees; (4) that theexecutrix has neglected to render her accounts and
failed to comply with the Order of the Courtrequiring her to file her accounts of
administration for the years 1961 to 1963; and (5) that she iswith permanent
physical defect hindering her from efficiently performing her duties as
anexecutrix.On October 5,1965, the court a quo, finding that the executrix Maria
Ventura has squanderedthe funds of the estate, was inefficient and incompetent, has
failed to comply with the orders ofthe Court in the matter of presenting up-to-date
statements of accounts and neglected to paythe real estate taxes of the estate,
removed Maria Ventura as executrix and administratrix of thee s t a t e a n d a p p o i n t e d
in her place Mercedes Ventura and Gregoria Ventura as
j o i n t administratrices of the estate.Ramirez, Gerald S. Special Commercial Law
(Thursday 7:30 – 9:30 PM)
ISSUE:Whether not the removal of Maria Ventura as executrix is legally justified.
RULING:Yes. However, this issue has become moot and academic in view of the decision
of this Court inrelated cases.Aside from the instant special proceedings, there are other
civil cases involving the estate of thedeceased Gregorio Ventura. One was filed by
herein appellee Gregoria Ventura against herfather, Gregorio Ventura. Later
Mercedes Ventura joined cause with Gregoria Ventura. Theyclaim ed that they
a re th e legitim ate child ren of Gregorio V entura and his wife Paulina
In the case at bar, the surviving spouse of the deceased Gregorio Ventura is Juana Cardona while
the next of kin are: Mercedes and Gregoria Ventura and Maria and Miguel Ventura. The "next of kin"
has been defined as those persons who are entitled under the statute of distribution to the
decedent's property (Cooper vs. Cooper, 43 Ind. A. 620, 88 NE 341). It is generally said that "the
nearest of kin, whose interest in the estate is more preponderant, is preferred in the choice of
administrator. 'Among members of a class the strongest ground for preference is the amount or
preponderance of interest. As between next of kin, the nearest of kin is to be preferred." (Cabanas,
et al. vs. Enage et al., 40 Off. Gaz. 12 Suppl. 227; citing 12 Am. Jur. Sec. 77, p. 416, cited in
Francisco Vicente J., The Revised Rules of Court in the Philippines, Vol. V-B 1970 Ed., p. 23).
As decided by the lower court and sustained by the Supreme Court, Mercedes and Gregoria Ventura
are the legitimate children of Gregorio Ventura and his wife, the late Paulina Simpliciano. Therefore,
as the nearest of kin of Gregorio Ventura they are entitled to preference over the illegitimate children
of Gregorio Ventura, namely: Maria and Miguel Ventura. Hence, under the aforestated preference
provided in Section 6 of Rule 78, the person or persons to be appointed administrator are Juana
Cardona, as the surviving spouse, or Mercedes and Gregoria Ventura as nearest of kin, or Juana
Cardona and Mercedes and Gregoria Ventura in the discretion of the Court, in order to represent
both interests.
PREMISES CONSIDERED, the appeal interposed by appellants Maria Ventura, Juana Cardona and
Miguel Ventura is hereby DISMISSED.
