Binay, De Lima call judge in Asiatique case 'callous, brazen'

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay called yesterday a Pasig judge “callous” for preventing the indictment of Globe Asiatique (GA) officials for syndicated estafa in connection with alleged anomalies in the real estate developer’s projects in Pampanga.

Binay, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund), said Judge Rolando Mislang railroaded the issuance of the temporary restraining order (TRO), enjoining the Department of Justice (DOJ) from filing charges against GA president Delfin Lee and several others.

In a related development, DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima called Mislang “brazen” after he issued a writ of preliminary injunction last Tuesday despite complaints and questions on the TRO he earlier issued.

Binay said he is “extremely disgusted by the callousness of Judge Mislang. He issued the preliminary injunction fully aware that the legality and propriety of his TROs are being questioned, and that the Court Administrator has directed him to explain his actions.”

De Lima said it is unimaginable for Mislang to issue another order when he was already being required by the Office of the Court Administrator in the Supreme Court to explain the propriety of his TRO in favor of Lee’s petition.

“The gall of that judge! That is rather blatant,” De Lima told reporters.

She said Mislang issued the writ without first getting the DOJ’s side through the Office of the Solicitor General. She said it was agreed in the last hearing on Aug. 26 that the OSG will be given 15 days or until Sept. 10 to file a memorandum on the petition to issue a writ.

De Lima said they will seek the inhibition of Mislang on the case and question before the Court of Appeals the TRO and writ he issued.

The SC may launch an investigation of Mislang after Pag-IBIG filed a complaint against him Monday, according to Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez. He said Mislang is also facing another complaint before his office.

The case against GA officials stemmed from a complaint by the National Bureau of Investigation and Pag-IBIG alleging that the respondents conspired to use “ghost” borrowers to obtain P6.6 billion in loans from Pag-IBIG and buy nearly 10,000 units of the GA’s Xevera project in Bacolor, Pampanga.

Lee vowed yesterday to prove their innocence, saying the charges “are a total lie.” He said they did not defraud the government of a single centavo.

He said Pag-IBIG can sell Xevera houses and lots to recover the money in case all other legal options fail.

He also said there are no “ghost” buyers, only borrowers who have defaulted in paying the housing loans. He said they offered to replace the borrowers, but Pag-IBIG refused.

Lee also said the loans were covered by documents and if there is any irregularity, Pag-IBIG is to blame. – With Non Alquitran