Fugitive Chinoy real estate developer Delfin Lee is being compared by his lawyer to Sen. Ping Lacson who went into hiding during the Arroyo administration when he was ordered arrested for alleged complicity in the murder of well-known PR man Salvador Dacer and his driver 11 years ago, only to resurface some 14 months later after the arrest warrant issued against him was cancelled by the appellate court.
The comment aired during a television interview last week greatly incensed Vice President Jejomar Binay, the nation’s “housing czar,” who is at the forefront of efforts to have Lee, who owns the controversial Globe Asiatique (GA) realty development company, thrown behind bars for having allegedly defrauded the government of some P7 billion in relation to two housing projects in the towns of Bacolor and Mabalacat in Pampanga province.
“Delfin Lee is no Ping Lacson,” Binay asserted in a press release circulated by e-mail. While Senator Lacson was a harsh critic of the Arroyo regime, thus making him a marked man, the Veep indicated in no uncertain terms that Lee is considered a criminal for bilking the Pag-Ibig Fund, the state housing agency, of several billions by using fake buyers and fake documents. And in the process, he ended up destroying the dreams of thousands of working Filipinos of owning their own homes.
Last May 2012, Judge Ma. Amifaith Reyes of the San Fernando Regional Trial Court handed out arrest warrants for Lee and his alleged cohorts in the Pag-IBIG scam after finding probable cause for the “syndicated estafa” charges lodged against them by the Department of Justice in 2011. Included in the criminal raps — wherein they aren’t entitled to avail of bail — are Dexter Lee, Lee’s son who is GA’s chief financial officer, GA officers Christina Sagun and Cristina Salagan as well as their suspected confederate Pag-IBIG lawyer Alex Alvarez.
According to the complaint sheet, Lee (who is also the father of Manila socialite and Kapatid network personality Divine Lee) and his co-accused had allegedly conspired in duping Pag-IBIG of some P 7 billion using ghost or fictitious borrowers for 9,951 accounts in GA’s Xevera housing projects in Mabalacat and Bacolor from March 2008 to August 2010.
During the same interview, the lawyer denied speculations that his client had left the country and sought refuge abroad to escape criminal prosecution in the sala of Judge Reyes. Of course, whether or not he is telling the truth is an entirely different matter.
Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo had earlier made the educated guess that Lee, using his money and connections in the Bureau of Immigration, had managed to board an outward flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and is already somewhere in China where he is said to have relatives and business associates.
The lawyer, identified as Willy Rivera, however admitted that he had advised Lee to go on the lam because the warrant of arrest of Judge Reyes was improperly issued. He said they are now contesting the regularity of the syndicated estafa charge and that Lee would only show up in court if there is a guarantee he would be allowed to post bail.
“The problem originated from Pag-IBIG, not from us,” Rivera explained to the interviewer.
He indicated that Lee feels that he is somehow being singled out by the government and by VP Binay for prosecution for reasons of their own.
Rivera also disclosed that currently there are around 200-real estate developers doing business with Pag-IBIG who are in the same boat as GA.
So why is Lee the only one facing syndicated estafa charges?
This seems to be very interesting stuff, what lawyer Rivera has just dumped on the lap of Vice President Binay and his people in Pag-IBIG and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.
Could this merely be the tip of the iceberg?
Could it be that Rivera knows something we don’t?
Abangan ang susunod na kabanata.

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I have here feed back from some of our readers regarding our previous columns on the GA scandal which is being printed verbatim.
The first is from sender Melo Bermillo: “Dapat managot din si Noli de Castro dahil noong nangyari ang anomalyang ito mula 2008 hanggang 2010 na kinasasangkutan ni Delfin Lee at kanyang mga kasama, si Noli de Castro ang namamahala ng Pag-IBIG at siya din ang pinuno ng housing authority ng ating gobyerno. Mismong si Sen. Osmeña ang nagsabi na dapat maimbistigahan din si De Castro. Bakit ba hindi natuloy ang imbestigasyong ito? Paging Mr. President Aquino.”
The second is from Jose Oliveros: “Noong una, natatandaan ko, ang focus ng investigation ng Pag-IBIG Fund pagka halal kay P-Noy ay itong dating vice president na si Noli Castro at yong Pag-IBIG president na si Miro Quimbao, na ngayon ay Congressman ng Marikina at one of the prosecutors of CJ Corona’s impeachment. Nawalan bigla ng interest ng Administrasyon kay Noli, sapagkat itoy tauhan ng isang malaking istasyon. At gayon din itong si Congressman Miro Quimbo, sapagkat siya ay sumapi sa grupo ni P-Noy... ganito palagi ang kwento ng daang matuwid. Ngayong Mr. Binay bakit kay Mr Lee ka lang intresado, samantalang itong dalawa na mas malaki ang pananagutan kaysa Kay Mr. Lee ay libre. Makakagawa ba ng kalokohan si Mr. Lee kung hindi sa kapabayaan ni Noli de Castro at Miro Quimbo? Kontratista lang si Mr. Lee.”

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What’s happening to the Land Transportation Office (LTO)? Geez, it’s getting to be a regular magnet for controversy.
A couple of months ago, I distinctly recalled the agency coming under fire for the Stradcom flap where the public was unnecessarily hassled due to delays in the processing and issuance of driver’s licenses arising from their internal squabbling on systems procedures.
Today, it finds itself embroiled in yet another controversy over the processing and issuance of certificates of registration and license plates for new vehicles.
Those who have purchased brand new units in recent years are fully aware of this problem.
Having purchased a car, the presumption is that the buyer is immediately given the certificate of registration and license plates by the dealer.
But this doesn’t happen, here in the Philippines, at least. The procedure is that only a “conduction sticker” in pasted by the salesman on the front and rear windshields so that the client can take his prized possession out on the road.
The LTO releases the vehicle’s certificate of registration and license plates only after about two to three months. Yes it takes that long, in the meantime the car gets depreciated and the owner gets no real security in the event of an accident, while the LTO takes its own sweet time in doing what it is supposed to do.
Then of course there is the inconvenience and harassment experienced by car owners whenever they are flagged down by vultures posing as law enforcers, which oftentimes leads to extortion.
Also, the car manufacturer is in effect also penalized as it loses from one to two percent of the unit’s purchase price. If a vehicle is purchased on installment, as is usually the case, the bank handling the loan will not release payment to the manufacturer until it is furnished with the registration papers and the license plates as these are needed for the annotation of the chattel mortgage.
However, in the case of “vanity” plates wherein the buyer gets to choose the initials and the numbers that he would like to have on the car’s license plates, this is released in a snap or a mere few days.
Of course, the motorist would have to shell out at least P30,000 for this privilege, depending on whom you deal with in the LTO.
Herein lies the problem. We’re told that members of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) have been trying for the longest time to rectify the issue of delayed delivery of car registration papers and license plates with the LTO leadership but so far their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
Which brings us now to the basic question: Does the LTO only act promptly if the price is right?
Daang matuwid? Tell that to the marines. Well, in this case, Assistant Secretary Virgie Torres.