LABAN TAYO! Vice President Binay assures Xevera residents of a “fight to the finish” against Lee.
PHOTO BY BONG LACSON
MABALACAT CITY – Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay said yesterday three more syndicated estafa charges remain pending before the Department of Justice against detained businessman Deilfin Lee, even as he urged Lee’s “victims” to file more charges against him over alleged real estate anomalies in three housing projects in Pampanga.
Meeting yesterday with alleged victims at Lee’s Xevera housing project here, Binay cited a recent assessment
made by the Pag-IBIG Fund indicating that as much as 60 percent of 9,951 housing transactions under Lee’s Globe
Asiatique firm were “bogus” and that of 4,364 which were legitimate, only 25 percent had the capacity of pay.
This, even as Pag- 3 more syndicated estafa cases vs. Delfi n Lee at DOJ IBIG Fund President- CEO Darlene Marie
Berberabe said that five major officials of her agency have already been fired and their appeal for their cases dismissed in connection with Lee’s syndicated estafa case involving some P7 billion of government funds for housing in Xevera projects here and in Bacolor town, and Sameera project in Angeles City.
She said more heads are expected to roll as investigations on the case continue. Berberabe identified the dismissed offi cials as Vilma Flores, Sergio Andal, Benjamin Garcia, Gloria Arevalo and Alex Alvarez.
Binay said about 162 housing anomaly victims are among the complainants in the case that led to the arrest of Lee in Manila last Friday. The complainants included those who were affected by double selling of their housing units, on top of “ghost” and other anomalous sales.
He said three more syndicated estafa cases over the same housing projects are now pending before the Department of justice, although one of them is covered by an injunction. Berberabe said the three more cases also cover the same housing projects but have different complainants.
She also countered the claim of Lee’s lawyer that the decision of the Court of Appeals last November dismissing the case and quashing the RTC’s arrest warrant as “immediately executory.” It wasn’t executory because the CA verdict was appealed before the Supreme Court and there is the element of judicial courtesy, she said.
Berberabe told the victims to hold on to their payment receipts to Globe Asiatique as evidences against Lee, even as she assured them that her agency would do all it can to make sure their payments are officially recognized.
At the same time, Binay said that he was determined to push the criminal case against Lee even if the victims
agree to any compromise with Globe Asiatique. But asked whether they could agree to any settlement with Lee, his audience shouted “No.”
