MANILA — The Court of Appeals (CA) has cleared television comedian Ariel Manalo, more commonly known as “Jose Manalo”, of liability in a multimillion-peso case involving his estranged wife Annalyn.
In a March 28 resolution, the appellate court dismissed with finality the petition seeking to bind the TV host in the PHP50-million compromise agreement between Annalyn and businessman Froilan Clemente Jr.
The CA dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by Clemente and affirmed its earlier ruling that the comedian was a non-party to the settlement deal.
“To repeat, the compromise agreement was signed by only one of the two defendants: Annalyn. On the other hand, herein private respondent Ariel or Jose, her husband and co-defendant, was not made a party to the settlement with the plaintiff, Froilan,” said the ruling penned by Associate Justice Ma. Luisa Quijano-Padilla.
The CA reiterated its finding that the compromise deal was invalid because Manalo was named as a party even without his consent.
“More importantly, the main provisions of said compromise agreement involve admissions of liabilities and assumption of obligations made by Annalyn, not only for herself, but also on behalf of her husband Ariel, even if the latter was not made a party to the settlement. This is contrary to law because the element of consent, on the part of private respondent, is lacking,” the court stressed.
The CA upheld the January 26, 2018 order of Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 92 Judge Eleuterio Bathan that voided the compromise agreement.