Vice President Jejomar C. Binay has reported to President Benigno S. Aquino III the full details of the controversy surrounding the arrest of Globe Asiatique president Delfin Lee.
“Basta't napag-usapan na namin 'yan kasi I was thinking na tatanungin na naman 'yong mga influential people. Ayos na 'yon, nagkausap-usap na [kami ni Pangulong Aquino],” the Vice President confirmed.
The Vice President said he has kept the President abreast of Lee’s case since the start of the investigation into Globe Asiatique’s alleged illegal practices.
“Alam naman ni Pangulo 'yong kasong 'yan. Noong iniimbestigahan pa lang namin 'yong kaso ni Mr. Lee sinabi ko na kay Pangulo, ‘Sir, ang laki nitong transaction na ito. Bilyong piso po ito.’ So, alam niya,” he said.
Binay is the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the chairman of the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF or Pag-IBIG Fund) board of trustees.
Binay ordered the filing of syndicated estafa charges against Lee and several Globe Asiatique officials in December 2010 after an investigation he ordered revealed that Lee used fake documents and ghost borrowers who supposedly bought homes in Globe Asiatique’s Xevera housing project in Mabalacat, Pampanga, to secure some P6.6 billion in loans from Pag-IBIG Fund
The Vice President also said Aquino issued the P2-million reward for Lee’s capture precisely because the President was aware of the gravity of the case.
Moreover, Binay confirmed he and Aquino had discussed the report submitted to him by HUDCC deputy secretary general Assistant Secretary Daniel Subido.
Subido said in his report to Binay that police officers were considering Lee's release and had to be reassured of the legality of the warrant of arrest.
“It is incredulous for the Philippine National Police (PNP) to even consider releasing an apprehended accused based on the mere representations of the latter’s lawyer on the purported invalidity of the Warrant of Arrest. Clearly, there must have been influential people that worked on the actual delisting of Mr. Lee from the Warrant of Arrest Information System and pressured the PNP to cause Mr. Lee’s release despite the existence of a valid Warrant of Arrest,” Subido in his report to the Vice President.
Subido said he was asked by the Vice President to go to Camp Crame immediately after Lee’s arrest “to ensure that the rule of law be applied and the proper procedure be followed on the arrest and detention” of the Globe Asiatique president, after the housing czar received a report that there were influential people pressuring PNP officials to release Lee.
The HUDCC deputy secretary general said when he arrived at Camp Crame, PNP officers were discussing the validity of Lee’s arrest “based on the mere representations made and documents presented” by the controversial real estate developer’s lawyer.
“According to the PNP officers, the lawyer of Mr. Lee presented documents that show that the Warrant of Arrest against Mr. Lee has allegedly been quashed, recalled and lifted, and that the PNP was purportedly enjoined from implementing said warrant of arrest,” Subido added.
Subido said he had to explain and reassure the PNP that the warrant of arrest against Lee was valid and existing because only the Regional Trial Court of Pampanga, which issued the warrant, could quash, recall, or lift the arrest warrant.