Pag-IBIG admits lapses in P6.6-B housing loan mess

An official of state-run Home Development Mutual Fund, or Pag-IBIG Fund, admitted Tuesday that there were lapses that allowed a developer to take up loan proceeds for questionable housing projects. Pag-IBIG officer-in-charge Emma Linda Faria said in a statement some of the agency’s officers failed to enforce measures that could have prevented private developer Globe Asiatique Realty Corp. Inc. from taking out at least P6.6 billion in housing loan proceeds. The developer allegedly took out housing loan proceeds for buyers of its projects in Pampanga even though the units were not yet complete, were below standards, unoccupied, or closed. According to Faria, Pag-IBIG officers “apparently failed" to strictly observe guidelines and internal control measures. However, Faria said she would not identify those erring officers until the investigation yields conclusive results. She said she has already issued a show cause order asking for explanations. “The order directs the concerned officers to explain why Pag-IBIG should not take any disciplinary action against them. The fund will not think twice about prosecuting any of its officers and employees who will be proven to be involved in this irregularity," she said. Faria likewise assured the public that Pag-IBIG has already placed "sufficient safeguards" to ensure that the housing loan program is not abused, and that the fund and its members are protected. On Sept. 8, Sen. Sergio “Serge" Osmeña III, chairman of the Senate committee investigating the irregularities, said some sort of connivance among employees of Pag-IBIG and those of Globe Asiatique must have been forged that allowed the developer to milk the agency of some P6.6 billion. Unforgivable “This is gross corruption. It’s unforgivable. There must be connivance here," Osmeña said during a hearing on government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) involving Pag-IBIG. Faria had said that they are already in the process of blacklisting Globe Asiatique. Globe Asiatique was "authorized" to receive loan applications and deliver them to Pag-IBIG through the Home Development Mutual Fund housing program express lane facility, according to her. The problem, the Pag-IBIG OIC said, was that their regional office in Pampanga failed to validate those loans. She said that of the 10,000 valid buyers, 1,000 borrowers could not be located, 400 others had already claimed their loans, and 200 had incomplete documents. The Senate will start its inquiry into the housing loan mess Thursday. Osmeña, however, said that Pag-IBIG "opened" itself to the problem by letting Globe Asiatique easily dip into the loanable funds. Each unit involved in the case costs about P750,000, and the borrower only needed to pay P5,000 a month. Unacceptable "All the developer does is pay P5,000 a month. (It's) absolute stupidity. This is totally unacceptable," he said. But Faria explained that during the latter part of 2009, there were supposedly "interventions" that threatened the safety of their employees should they stop the processing of the loans. When asked to elaborate, Faria just said that the matter is already under investigation. "The Vice President (Jejomar Binay) has already ordered a fast investigation on the housing loan protfolio and charges will be filed at the soonest possible time," she said. Binay, who heads the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), also chairs the board of trustees of Pag-IBIG. On the other hand, former vice president and HUDCC chief Noli De Castro had earlier defended Globe Asiatique, saying that it was the fault of Pag-IBIG for not validating the applications. He likewise said that borowers with incomplete documents might have also applied for housing loans through other realty developers. — LBG/VS, GMANews.TV