Aug. 13--THE Court of Appeals has stripped singer-businessman Ramon "RJ" Jacinto the right to maintain possession of a prime lot in Makati City for failure to pay his loan obligation with the Philippine National Bank.

The Court of Appeals' Eight Division nullified the resolution issued by Judge Rommel Baybay of Branch 132 of the Regional Trial Court of Makati on March 10, 2009, requiring PNB to return to Jacinto an 8,000-square-meter property located at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City, worth more than P6 billion.

The 31-page decision written by Associate Justice Romeo Barza also ordered the RTC to return to PNB the properties in Tagaytay that were owned by RFR Development Corp. and which Jacinto used as collateral in order to obtain loans from the bank.

"The court is simply perplexed as to how the respondent court [Branch 132, RTC, Makati] could have ordered the restoration of possession of the Buendia and Tagaytay properties which have already been foreclosed by petitioner bank, in its assailed writ of execution, issued on March 10, 2009," the decision said.

"There was nothing in the said Supreme Court decision, nor from the said decision of this Court, about the restoration of possession over the Buendia property to the RJ Ventures nor of the Tagaytay properties to RFR Development Corporation," it added.

The appellate court also noted that Baybay issued the assailed writ of execution supposedly in line with the final and executory decision of the Supreme Court on September 27, 2006 in the case entitled "Philippine National Bank versus RJ Ventures Realty Development Corporation and Rajah Broadcasting Network Inc."

In the said ruling, the High Court affirmed the appellate court's reinstatement of the writ of preliminary injunction issued on May 28, 1999 by the Branch 66 of the Regional Trial Court of Makati enjoining PNB from "foreclosing all collaterals pledged or mortgaged" by RJ Ventures Realty Development Corp. and its affiliate Rajah Broadcasting Network Inc.

However, the appellate court pointed out that the High Tribunal ruling covered only the broadcasting equipment of Rajah Broadcasting Network in several parts of the country and not the Buendia and Tagaytay properties.

Lawyer Estelito Mendoza, counsel for PNB, said the bank "is relieved" with the Court of Appeals' nullification of the Makati RTC Branch 132's decision.

Mendoza said: "The RTC has to restore possession of the property to the PNB. If you can recall, those properties, particularly the Buendia property, originally belonged to the PNB.