05/24/2012 [
tribune.net.ph ]
Warrants of arrest have
been issued against Globe Asiatique (GA) owner Delfin Lee and his co-accused
after a judge found probable cause for the syndicated estafa case filed against
them, Vice President Jejomar Binay said yesterday.
Binay, the chairman of the
Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, said Judge Amifaith
Fider-Reyes of the Regional Trial Court Branch 42 in San Fernando, Pampanga,
issued the warrants of arrest Tuesday with no recommendation for bail.
“Globe Asiatique
defrauded the ordinary workers who are contributors of Pag-IBIG Fund. The
company defrauded hardworking citizens of Pampanga by selling property they
have purchased legitimately to other buyers, a practice known as double
selling. The issuance of the warrants of arrest against Delfin Lee and his
co-accused just shows that the law is on the side of the ordinary workers duped
by Globe Asiatique,” he said.
Binay is also the
chairman of the Pag-IBIG board of trustees.
The housing czar said he
was told that Reyes initially deferred the issuance of the warrants and
directed the prosecution team to present additional evidence. However, upon the
prosecution’s inquiry, it was discovered that the court staff had not told the
judge that there were six boxes of evidence in court.
“After reviewing the
pertinent evidence, Reyes issued the warrants of arrest. We were informed that
the court staff are now required by the judge to show cause why they should not
be penalized for the non-disclosure,” the Vice President said.
Department of Justice
(DoJ) prosecutor general Claro Arellano yesterday confirmed that a warrant of
has been issued for the arrest of Lee and his co-accused.
The DoJ had previously
recommended the filing of syndicated estafa charges against Lee and several
others after an investigation ordered by Binay revealed that GA used “ghost
borrowers” and fake documents to obtain over P6.5 billion in loans from
Pag-IBIG.
In October 2010, after
he was named housing czar, Binay directed Pag-IBIG to file charges of
syndicated estafa against Lee and other GA officials, together with an officer
of the agency, before the DoJ.
A Pasig regional trial
court judge issued a temporary restraining order covering the syndicated estafa
case and another case for “double sale” filed against GA, but the Court of
Appeals in a decision last month allowed the DoJ to continue filing the
syndicated estafa charges.
“We will remain vigilant
in monitoring the case until Delfin Lee and his co-accused are behind bars,”
Binay said.
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