Globe Asiatique owner seeks recall of arrest warant

MANILA, Philippines - Lawyers of Globe Asiatique owner Delfin Lee have filed a motion asking the San Fernando RTC to recall the warrants of arrest issued against Lee and other key officers of the company and a notary public working with the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) or Pag-IBIG Fund.

The lawyers of Lee at a possible undue haste in the issuance of the arrest warrants against Lee, his son Dexter, and two other company executives despite an existing law on undue interference on judicial proceedings, an edict which was upheld in numerous cases by the Supreme Court.

Earlier, Globe Asiatique questioned the inclusion of Pag-IBIG lawyer Alex Alvarez to raise the number of accused to five and cause the case to qualify for syndicated estafa, which is non-bailable compared to a simple estafa which is bailable.

In its motion filed before the San Fernando RTC, Globe Asiatique cites a 2009 en banc decision of the Supreme Court in heirs of Piedad vs. Judge Estrera holding that a court like the San Fernando RTC is prohibited by law from interfering with the decision of a co-equal court like the Makati RTC under the doctrine of judicial stability.

It will be recalled that before the San Fernando RTC tackled the case, the Makati RTC rendered a decision on Jan. 30, 2012 holding Pag-IBIG liable for specific performance and damages to Globe Asiatique.

In that decision, the Makati court stated that Pag-IBIG breached its memorandum of agreement (MOA) and funding commitment agreements (FCAs) which it signed with Globe Asiatique when it refused to accept the replacement buyers being offered by the latter pursuant to the provisions of their contracts. According to the court, the MOA and FCAs allow Globe Asiatique to replace defaulting buyers, among other measures to protect the buyers in Globe Asiatique’s Xevera projects.