The Sandiganbayan has upheld its ruling declaring over 200 titled properties under the estate of the late Muntinlupa mayor Maximino Argana as ill-gotten and forfeiting them to the government. The court rejected a petition by the Argana family to overturn its August 18 decision, stating that the late mayor's income was manifestly disproportionate to the real estate he amassed in office. The respondents failed to justify the lawful acquisition of the properties, leading to their forfeiture in favor of the state.
On November 24, the Sandiganbayan issued a 19-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Ronaldo Moreno, upholding the prior decision. Associate Justices Edgardo Caldona and Karl Miranda, chair of the 3rd Division, concurred. The resolution stated, 'The respondents failed to present sufficient evidence that would show the circumstances for their purchase of the properties listed in the Petition, as well as their financial ability to make the acquisitions.'
Maximino Argana served as Muntinlupa mayor from 1964 to 1967 and from 1972 until his death in June 1985, during Ferdinand E. Marcos's dictatorship. His salary as mayor over 15 years totaled P392,228.53, with allowances of P183,700. His wife, Donata Almendrala, a teacher and later principal, earned P159,417.14 from 1964 to 1986.
The combined value of real properties reached P4.14 million, while personal assets, including investments in a lending firm and property development company, were P1.72 million. In 1987, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) filed a recovery petition against Argana's estate.
In 1997, a compromise deal proposed a 75-25 split favoring the government, but it was deemed fraudulent. Approved by President Fidel Ramos on May 27, 1998, it was rescinded by the Sandiganbayan on April 11, 2000, after revelations that the government's share was worth only P3.62 million against the Argana family's P4 billion. In 2004, the Supreme Court halted enforcement, labeling it a 'virtual sell-out.'
The forfeited properties include 224 lots in Barrio Bagbagan, Alabang, Muntinlupa; 10 lots in Laguna; and others in family and company names like Refedor Southgold Property Management and Development Corp. Also seized are shares in Sampaguita Savings and Loan Association and 5,000 shares in Refedor.