Binay orders probe into housing loan mess

MANILA, Philippines – The government’s housing czar, Vice President Jejomar Binay, has ordered an inquiry into the alleged fraudulent use of Pag-Ibig Fund housing loan proceeds by real estate developer Globe Asiatique.

Emma Linda Faria, a Pag-Ibig official, revealed Binay’s order in an interview on Anthony Taberna’s “Punto for Punto” program on ABS-CBN.

Another guest of Taberna was Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., author of one of three resolutions in the House of Representatives seeking an inquiry into the housing loan mess.

Majority Leader Rep. Neptali Gonzales II of Mandaluyong City and Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga filed the two other resolutions.

Globe Asiatique has projects in Pampanga, Mandaluyong City, Quezon City, and Cavite.

During the interview, Faria admitted that Pag-Ibig Fund, the housing fund of government and private sector workers, was “a victim of fraud.”

“We discovered 400 accounts involving Globe Asiatique borrowers who do not have the capacity to pay for their loans,” she said.

She said Globe Asiatique owner Delfin Lee himself has acknowledged that he was having problems with at least 1,000 of his borrowers and homebuyers.

“We have asked the developer to buy back accounts worth P1.1 billion,” she said.

She added that Binay, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), has ordered an audit of all of Lee’s accounts.

Globe Asiatique has taken out some P6.6 billion in loan proceeds on behalf of its supposed borrowers and homebuyers.

Faria revealed that they discovered the irregularity before last May’s elections when then Vice President Noli de Castro was HUDCC chair and had supervision over Pag-Ibig Fund and other housing agencies.

The president of Pag-Ibig then was Romero Federico Quimbo, who resigned to run for congressman in Marikina’s second district. He won.

In a recent chat with reporters, Quimbo said he had differences with De Castro on the Globe Asiatique case. He refused to elaborate on such differences.

Barzaga said the House would invite to its inquiry all persons that have to do with the Globe Asiatique housing loan mess.

“We will look into why this happened, if borrowing rules were strictly followed or were relaxed to accommodate the developer, and try to identify those responsible for the irregularities. We will recommend the filing of appropriate charges after the inquiry,” he said.

In Resolution 316, Gonzales cited reports that in Pampanga alone, “hundreds of loan accounts involving hundreds of millions of pesos were found to be spurious and fictitious, with listed borrowers not even knowing that they have applied for and been granted Pag-Ibig loans.”

“Direct accounts of alleged fictitious and bogus borrowers are to the effect that people went to them to secure their signatures on certain documents in exchange for specific amounts of money, but they did not know nor were they informed that the documents they signed were to be utilized to secure Pag-Ibig loans,” he said.

“Records also indicate that at least P6.6 billion in housing loan proceeds were taken out by Globe Asiatique for buyers of its units in housing projects in Pampanga, but that hundreds of these buyers are fake Pag-Ibig members or ineligible for Pag-Ibig membership,” he said.

He said many of the supposed Pampanga borrowers were dead at the time of their loan application or were not living in the addresses given.

“Globe Asiatique took out billions of loan proceeds even as housing units to be financed (out of these loans) were not yet completed, with thousands of completed units below standard, unoccupied or closed,” he added. –Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star)