Pag-IBIG execs, employees told to report housing acquisitions

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The officers and employees of the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) have been ordered to report in writing their acquisition of property in any housing projects of the Globe Asiatique Realty Holdings Corp.

Emma Linda Faria, officer in charge of the Pag-IBIG Fund, gave the order in a memorandum dated Sept. 11.

In the same memorandum, she cited the published claim of Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. that he had obtained information that former Pag-IBIG executives “were rewarded with units in Globe Asiatique’s GA Towers on EDSA, Mandaluyong City.”

Congress probe

Barzaga is among several lawmakers who have called for a congressional investigation of possible irregularities in Asiatique’s Xevera subdivisions in Bacolor and Mabalacat towns in Pampanga.

Documents showed that Globe Asiatique used spurious borrowers to facilitate the release of housing loans worth almost P7 billion for nearly 9,000 houses.

Hundreds of these houses have been found to be unoccupied. More than 2,000 were not completed or had deficiencies although the loans were already taken out.

Several rules of the national savings and shelter financing agency were bent to help Globe Asiatique take out many loans in almost three years, documents showed.

In her memorandum, Faria instructed personnel to report under oath to the agency’s vice president for internal audit group not later than Sept. 15.

Strict compliance

She required the personnel to state the following information in their reports: Location of property, transfer certificate of title number, amount of purchase, source of funds and date of purchase.

The memorandum was for “strict and immediate compliance.”

Aside from GA Towers, Globe Asiatique has condominium and housing projects in Rizal, Quezon City, Angeles City, Antipolo City, Valenzuela City and Pampanga.

The scheme of getting spurious borrowers has attracted people from as far as Zambales, a handwritten affidavit by a woman who claimed to be formerly part of the scheme showed.

The woman, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, said in her Aug. 5 affidavit that her participation in looking for housing loan applicants and in compiling their documents began in April 2009.

P500 fee

She said she was drawn to it through a friend whose boyfriend asked help to get the applicants for a fee of P500 each recruit.

According to her, the man introduced her to his boss, who was one of Globe Asiatique’s deputized loan counselors.

The woman said she was instructed to get signatures of people, assure them that their names would be “erased” after two years and promise them they would get P1,000 for agreeing to sign the housing loan documents.

“Later, they were informed that the applications were rejected but I discovered lately that those were approved because they were receiving monthly bills [for mortgages],” she said in the affidavit written in Filipino. –Tonette Orejas, Central Luzon Desk