Loi to GMA: Investigate housing anomalies

Leading Lapian ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Puwersa ng Masa senatorial candidate Dr. Luisa "Loi" Ejercito Estrada yesterday challenged President Macapagal Arroyo to investigate housing anomalies and run after those who had milked the government’s housing funds bone-dry.

In particular, Dr. Loi urged the President to investigate former Speaker Manny Villar, one of the administration’s senatorial candidates for the May 14 elections.

Dr. Estrada said that the President must address the statement made the other day by the Young Officers’ Union (YOU), a shadowy group of idealistic young people and military officers, which specifically accused former Speaker Manuel Villar of profiting the most from alleged P42 billion housing scandal committed under the Ramos and Aquino administrations.

The group said Villar’s real estate companies had been able to corner P11.7 billion of the housing loans. The houses remain unoccupied and idle because false papers and "ghost borrowers" were used to secure the loans.

The money loaned came from the coffers of the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, Pag-ibig Fund and others through the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation, the YOU statement said.

Dr. Estrada demanded that President Arroyo, like the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice, refrain from covering up for Villar’s alleged involvement in the housing scam and, instead should have him investigated.

She also urged the Arroyo government to be energetic in disposing of 100,000 idle and unoccupied housing units built during the administrations of Presidents Aquino and Ramos and to recover government investments to support new housing initiatives.

Earlier, Senator Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the Senate housing committee, also accused several private real estate developers of numerous irregularities in the construction of the idle and vacant housing units.