Cancel Delfin Lee’s passport - VP Binay
By OVP Media
July 13, 2012
MANILA – Vice President Jejomar C. Binay said he will ask for the
cancellation of Globe Asiatique (GA) owner Delfin Lee’s passport if
reports that the controversial property developer has left the country
to evade arrest are confirmed.
Aside from canceling Lee’s passport, the government could also
request for Lee to be extradited back to the country, he added.
“Pag na-trace yan sa abroad, magpa-file sa pamahalaan na kung pwede ay
pabalikin dito kasi may kaso. Para bang pinapa-cancel mo ‘yong
pasaporte,” Binay said in an interview Thursday.
The GA owner has an outstanding warrant of arrest issued against him
for syndicated estafa in connection to GA’s Xevera housing project in
Mabalacat, Pampanga.
The Vice President said he feared Lee’s escape, if true, will lead to
loss of the public’s trust in the government.
“Ito po ang mga pagkakataong nawawalan ng tiwala ang mga kababayan
natin sapagkat maliwanag pa sa araw ang kasong ito at talagang hot
issue ang kasong ‘yon,” he said.
Binay, the Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating
Council (HUDCC), said he will not allow Lee to escape arrest and vowed
to help the public regain its trust in the country’s judicial system.
“Hindi po ako papayag. Ibabalik po natin ang tiwala ng taumbayan,” he
said.
He added that he has written the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to confirm if Lee had indeed left
the country.
“Please validate the reports quoting Secretary Jesse Robredo saying
that Delfin Lee is already out of the country despite his outstanding
warrant of arrest for syndicated estafa in Criminal Case No. 18480
issued on May 22, 2012 by Judge Amifaith Fider-Reyes, Presiding Judge
of the Regional Trial Court of San Fernando Pampanga, Branch 42. If
confirmed, I would highly appreciate an immediate investigation on how
a fugitive from justice can easily escape from our jurisdiction,”
Binay said in his letter to the NBI and BI.
The Vice President said he was no longer questioning the apparent
failure of the authorities to arrest Lee, but for the GA owner to be
able to leave the country was another story.
“Kasi sa aking pagkaka-practice ng batas, magkaka-file po ng
information. Pagka-issue ng warrant, yang warrant na yan pinapadala sa
lahat ng agencies: sa CIDG, sa PNP, sa NBI. So, paano nga nakalabas
kung nakalabas nga,” he said.
In October 2010, after he was named housing czar, Binay directed
Pag-IBIG to investigate the fraudulent loans obtained by GA during the
previous administration. It was revealed that GA used "ghost
borrowers" and fake documents to obtain over P6.5 billion in loans
from the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG) for its Xevera
housing project.
According to the investigation by the NBI, GA used fake documents such
as TINs, marriage contracts, and identification cards for thousands of
ghost buyers for the Xevera project.
Pag-IBIG and the Department of Justice subsequently filed syndicated
estafa charges against Lee.
On May 22, Judge Amifaith Fider-Reyes issued warrants of arrest with
no recommendation for bail against Lee, his son Dexter, and other GA
officials.
The housing czar remained hopeful that the case against Lee will not
be neglected.
“Inaasahan ko at ng mga nabiktima sa Pampanga, dito sa pabahay na
project ni Delfin Lee, na hindi pababayaan ang kaso,” he said.