11/25/2010 [ tribune.net.ph ]
Housing developer Globe Asiatique Realty Corp. (GA) stood firm on its position that it did not defraud the Home Mortgage Development Fund or Pag-IBIG fund nor was there a conspiracy among its executives to embezzle workers’ contributions as it had transacted with the agency in good faith.
In an affidavit submitted to the Department of Justice last Nov. 22, Delfin Lee, Globe Asiatique president, strongly denied all the allegations made against him and the company by Pag-IBIG and the National Bureau of Investigation in the complaint they filed before the DoJ last month.
“We did not commit any crime. Our track record speaks for itself. The communities that we built tell a story that is diametrically opposed to the one being depicted by the complainants,” Lee said.
He said there would have been fraud if funds were obtained without the houses being built or the houses that were built were worth much less than the take-out amount. On the contrary, the company already built the communities and were occupied by borrowers when it got the funds from Pag-IBIG.
On the allegation that estafa was committed because GA paid for the amortizations of some of the buyers (who were never identified in the complaint-affidavit), Lee said the same is an obligation of GA as mandated by their Funding Commitment Agreement (FCA) with Pag-IBIG.
He added that no proof was presented by the complainants to show that he assented to patently unlawful acts.
“In fact, GA immediately cooperated with the HDMF to solve the issue on the alleged spurious buyers,” he said.
Furthermore, Lee said, no proof was submitted by Pag-IBIG and NBI that GA was formed with the intent to commit fraud, including their allegation that a syndicate was formed to defraud the agency. “There are no specific allegations in the complaint affidavit (of Pag-IBIG and NBI) with respect to the formation of this so-called syndicate.”
He said that it is an accepted legal doctrine that to establish conspiracy, evidence of actual cooperation rather than mere cognizance or approval of the illegal act is required.
Lee pointed out that “false pretenses could not have been committed because the terms and conditions in the agreements were imposed by the HDMF.
“The terms and conditions contained in the MoA (memorandum of agreement) came from the HDMF and not from GA. To reiterate, GA did not draft the MoA. The HDMF had absolute power, control, and discretion over its terms. In fact, there is no proof that GA was able to dictate the terms thereof,” Lee added.
On Pag-IBIG’s accusation that the HDMF was “induced” into releasing the loan amounts to Globe Asiatique totaling P6.3 billion because of Lee’s personal warranties, the businessman replied: “A reading of the MoA clearly shows that I signed as representative of GA and not as a party thereto. Not a single provision in the MoA states that I was the one personally making the warranties. It was an agreement between the HDMF and GA, the company that I represent.”
He stressed that a developer cannot propose terms and conditions to dupe the HDMF to accredit it.
“The required warranties were not invented by GA. They were mandatory provisions provided for the HDMF Circulars... GA and the HDMF had undertaken projects in the past which were very successful. This proves the good track record of the company. It has a reputation to protect.”
He said Pag-IBIG cannot claim that they relied on his representations in dealing with the company.
______________________________________________________________
