MABALACAT CITY -- The case of an American national who was found dead in the master’s bedroom of a villa he was renting at Terracotta Villas, Incorporated located in Barangay Camachiles here on September 14, 2015, was closed.
Police Officer 3 Roldan Marquez Tababa, who headed the investigating team, said the relatives of Chance Eugene Batchelor, 65, did not pursue any case against the caretaker of Terracotta and the barangay officials.
Tababa earlier said that Batchelor’s body did not undergo autopsy because of a waiver signed by the caretaker, Artemio Argallo and the driver of the barangay service vehicle identified as Jun Sabillo.
The police officer also said that the incident was not recorded in the barangay logbook.
The American’s passport was turned over to the United States Embassy along with the copy of the death certificate.
Police previously said that the officials of Barangay Camachiles and the owners of Terracotta may be held liable for their failure to report the incident to the police.
Meanwhile, some residents are questioning the operation of Terracota Villas Incorporated despite a decision issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that revoked its certificate of registration due to fraud of its procurement as far back as 2012.
In its decision, the SEC stated that it found evidence to support the revocation of the registration which includes making it appear that the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws were signed and acknowledged by the company’s incorporators and that all of its incorporators, except one, were Filipino citizens.
Among the company’s incorporators were Linda Chu, Amelia Chu, Frida Wang, James Quinones Jr., James Quinones II, Francis Jordan Quinones, and Jan Jerome Fernando who were all listed as Filipino citizens.
But according to the SEC, an affidavit executed by Amelia Chu Javier, one of the incorporators, claimed that all of the incorporators except herself were American citizens contrary to the information listed in the firm’s articles of incorporation.
The SEC also found that the articles of incorporation were not properly executed as these were not signed personally in the presence of a notary public at the time of the notarization in violation of the Rules of Notarial Practice of 2004.
The Court of Appeals also dismissed a subsequent petition filed by the firm to annul the SEC ruling for lack of merit, among others on March 25, 2014.
A city official told SunStar Pampanga Thursday that Terracotta did not for a permit to operate the residential villas.
An employee of Terracotta Villas Incorporated, who refused to issue official statement regarding the issue, disclosed that the firm is not yet operating.
He said that people who are visiting the place are the owners’ relatives who are temporarily staying for few days or weeks. (Sunstar Reportorial Team)