The Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld a lower court ruling in favor of actor Ronnie Henares and his brothers in a bitter corporate dispute with their sisters over the ownership of a family real estate firm and its primary asset, a mansion in an upscale Makati enclave.

In a resolution announced Thursday, the CA Seventh Division affirmed a decision by the Makati Regional Trial Court that recognized the actor as a legitimate stockholder of Henlich Development Corp.

The ruling effectively invalidated a 2019 election of officers that barred him from voting.

The legal battle stems from a proposal by his sisters — Cecilia Chudiain, Rosario Anna Angeles and Elvira Esguerra — to sell the family’s house in Dasmariñas Village, Makati. The property served as the residence of their father, the late journalist Hilarion “Larry” Henares Jr., and constitutes Henlich’s primary asset.

Ronnie and his brothers, Alfredo and Daniel, opposed the sale because they did not want to relocate their elderly father and expressed concern over their sisters’ handling of another property.

During an emergency board meeting in April 2019, the sisters blocked Ronnie from voting for new corporate officers, claiming official records showed he was not a shareholder. The brothers challenged the election before the Makati RTC, which ruled in their favor.

According to court testimony, Ronnie was initially excluded as an incorporator when Henlich was founded by their mother, Cecilia Lichauco-Henares, because he was undergoing marital issues.

The family intentionally kept his name off the original articles of incorporation to prevent his then-wife from claiming a legal interest in the asset.