09/30/2011 [ tribune.net.ph ]
Vice President Jejomar Binay yesterday said Pag-IBIG Fund will not enter into an “amicable settlement” with Globe Asiatique over the syndicated estafa case filed by the state housing agency against the property developer.
“The only win-win solution, to my mind, is for Delfin Lee and his co-accused to face justice and go to jail,” Binay said.
The Vice President is chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the Pag-IBIG Board of Trustees.
Binay said that while he understands that Pampanga Rep. Carmelo Lazatin was only expressing concern over the situation of his constituents, GA should not be allowed to walk away from his criminal actions with an amicable settlement.
“Globe Asiatique defrauded the ordinary workers who are contributors of Pag-IBIG Fund. The company defrauded hardworking citizens of Pampanga by selling property they already purchased legitimately to other buyers, a practice known as double selling. They are demanding justice. I’m sorry but if you are proposing an amicable settlement, it is out of the question,” Binay said.
“Pag-IBIG is funded by contributions from its 8 million members. As caretakers of the fund, we are mandated to protect the integrity of the fund at all times. In the case against GA, we cannot take the path of least resistance and enter into a compromise when the evidence is clear and unequivocal. That would be tantamount to abandoning our duty to protect the fund,” he said.
Binay added the case against GA is also proof of the Aquino administration’s determination to stop corruption in government.
“We will not only be letting our President down, we will be letting the people down if we even as much as contemplate a settlement with Delfin Lee,” he said.
Binay also took strong exception to the statement made by the lawyer of GA that it was the borrowers, not the developer, that owed Pag-IBIG.
“Where are the borrowers? Globe Asiatique used ghost borrowers to defraud Pag-IBIG of over P6 billion. They submitted falsified documents,” he said.
Pag-IBIG definitely would not have released the loans had it known that the buyers are fictitious, he added.
“Clearly, Globe Asiatique used Pag-IBIG’s own funds to pay for the previous loan takeouts of the ghost buyers,” he said.
“We can allow replacement of bad loans. But replacing ghost buyers is definitely not allowed and cannot be used to cover up Lee’s crime of syndicated estafa,” added.
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