SC downgrades charges vs Delfin Lee, allows him to post bail

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has downgraded the charges against Globe Asiatique president Delfin Lee, who was indicted in the multi-billion housing scam project, allowing him to post bail.

In a full court session on Tuesday, seven justices voted to downgrade Lee’s charges from syndicated estafa to estafa, which would allow him to file a plea for provisional liberty.

“The Court downgraded the offense that respondent Lee is charged with from syndicated estasfa under Article 315, as amended to simple estafa,” SC spokesperson Theodore Te said.

“As a consequence, the respondent Lee who is the accused in the case below, is entitled as a matter of right,” Te also said.

Five justices denied Lee’s plea to have the arrest order issued by a Pampanga court to be quashed, while two justices took no part.

Te said the identities of the justices who voted were not disclosed.

The case stemmed from the Department of Justice’s syndicated estafa case against Lee, his son Dexter, Globe Asiatique officers Christina Sagun and Cristina Salagan, and Pag-IBIG Fund legal department employee Alex Alvarez, filed in 2011.

The accused were charged for allegedly defrauding members of Pag-IBIG of some P6.6 billion in housing loans used in projects of Globe Asiatique in Bacolor and Mabalacat towns in Pampanga from 2008 to 2011.

However, the Court of Appeals 10^th Division earlier cleared Sagun, which downgraded the case to plain estafa since syndicated estafa, according to Presidential Decree 1689, requires the involvement of five or more persons.

The SC issued a halt order on the CA ruling that enjoined the enforcement of the Oct. 5, 2012 and Feb. 11, 2013 rulings of the appellate court.

READ: SC stops CA ruling lifting Delfin Lee's arrest

This allowed the syndicated estafa charges against Lee to remain filed against him.