Cristina Corona reconciles with Basa relatives

MANILA, Philippines – Thanks to the impeachment trial, the long warring relatives — Cristina Corona and her Basa relatives — reconciled inside the Senate impeachment court on Friday, May 25.

At around 3 pm, while the trial was on break, Mrs Corona approached her relatives in the Senate VIP Gallery. Gallery observers clapped when they saw the family in tears and hugging each other.

There was a mediator, a woman who we are yet to identify, who led Cristina to the Basas. Cristina’s daughter Carla followed, resulting in a dramatic family reconciliation.

Among the Basas present in the Gallery were Cristina’s aunt Cecilia and cousins Ana, Isabel, Francesca, and Erik (children of Jose Maria Basa III).

The Basas arrived from the US last week to witness the testimony of Corona. Bitter words had been exchanged during the trial and in press conferences.

The Basas and the Coronas have been fighting over properties left behind by grandmother Rosario Guidote Vda de Basa.

After Rosario’s death in 1983, Cristina filed several court cases against the Basas to question division of shareholdings in the family corporation Basa Guidote Enterprises Inc (BGEI).

After Rosario’s death, the Basas took the position that the matriarch had equally distributed the shares to her children. Cristina questioned this before the Securities and Exchange Commission.

When the SEC lost jurisdiction over intra-corporate cases, she pursued cases in various regional trial courts.

In the end, it was a libel case that Cristina filed against the Basas that led to the public auction of Jose Maria’s shares. Cristina’s daughter Carla happened to be the lone bidder.

Carla bought BGEI, with an asset of P34.7-M, for a mere P28,000.

Likewise, Cristina had filed for a probate of the will of grandmother Rosario to seek court approval. It remains pending in court. – Rappler.com