CA rejects petition for DNA test on Wenn Deramas' children over property dispute

The Court of Appeals has denied the petition filed by the sister and nephews of the late film director Edwin “Wenn” Deramas that sought to have his children take a DNA test following an inheritance dispute over his two properties.

On Sept. 8, the CA 15th Division upheld the Quezon City Regional Trial Court decision on the rights of Deramas' adoptive children, Gabriel and Raphaella, over the filmmaker's “Bahay Toro” and “Bahay Balara” in Quezon City.

The issue began in 2023 when the petitioners found that the two properties were put under Gabriel and Raphaella’s names.

The petitioners initially pursued an extrajudicial settlement of estate and asked the respondents to leave the premises. However, Gabriel and Raphaella decided to transfer the properties to their names, asserting that they are Deramas' compulsory heirs.

This led the petitioners to request a DNA test, arguing that the pair were not Deramas’ biological children and that he had "informally adopted" Gabriel in 2000 and Raphaella in 2010. They also claimed that Deramas was openly gay and that the children’s mother, Ariane Manalo, was a lesbian.

However, the RTC ruled that a DNA test was "unnecessary" as Gabriel and Raphaella's birth certificates provided proof that they were Deramas' children.

This was affirmed by the CA, stating that the petitioners were wrong to assume that Deramas’ sexual orientation meant he could not have children.

"The denial of a motion for DNA testing is warranted when the request is premised solely on such tenuous or insubstantial grounds," the decision read. "They placed undue emphasis on the sexual orientation of Edwin and XXX and on the fact that the two were never married."

Deramas passed away in 2016 after suffering from a heart attack. He is known for helming films such as Ang Tanging Ina, Petrang Kabayo, Sisterakas, Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy, and more.