Pampanga court junks estafa case vs. Delfin Lee, Globe Asiatique execs

A Pampanga court has dismissed the criminal case against Globe Asiatique (GA) founder Delfin Lee and four other company officials over an alleged "ghost borrowers" scheme to obtain P6.6 billion in housing loans from the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG.

In a 100-page decision, the San Fernando, Pampanga Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 42 granted the "demurrer to evidence" filed by Lee; his son and GA executive vice president Dexter Lee; Christina Sagun, GA documentation department head; Cristina Salagan, GA accounting and finance department head; and Atty. Alex Alvarez, a Pag-IBIG Fund lawyer who headed its foreclosure department.

"The prosecution failed to establish the elements of the crime of estafa under Article 315 (2)(a) of the RPC, or any lesser offense necessarily included therein, which warrants the dismissal of this criminal action on demurrer," read the Pampanga court's ruling, penned by Presiding Judge Joel Bantasan.

A demurrer to evidence is a motion to dismiss filed by the accused after the prosecution rests, on the ground that the evidence is insufficient. Granting it is considered an acquittal.

The case stemmed from the syndicated estafa complaint filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2011 against Lee and the four others, who were accused of defrauding Pag-IBIG members in housing loans used in GA's projects in Bacolor and Mabalacat towns, Pampanga, from 2008 to 2011.

In 2018, the Supreme Court downgraded the charge to simple estafa and remanded the case to the RTC, ruling that it was Pag-IBIG, not GA, that solicited funds from the public, a key element in prosecuting syndicated estafa. 

Upon review, the RTC found "no sufficient evidence" that GA or the accused individuals solicited public funds through illegal means or induced Pag-IBIG to release the P6.6 billion through fraud.

The Pampanga court's ruling also rejected claims of a "special buyer" scheme in GA's Xevera projects, noting the existence of buyer-borrower records and the lack of proof that the company paid premiums or submitted applications for fictitious borrowers.

The RTC said alleged contractual breaches did not automatically amount to criminal fraud and found no sufficient proof that Alvarez committed estafa in notarizing documents. 

It also cited Lee's disclosure and monitoring of about 1,000 questionable accounts, describing his actions as "incongruous of a deceitful man deliberately committing fraud against Pag-IBIG."

Lee's lawyer, Atty. Rony Garay, welcomed the ruling, saying the grant of the demurrer bars further prosecution under the rule on double jeopardy. 

Guray added that Globe Asiatique was engaged in legitimate real estate operations in response to the government's call for private-sector participation in low-cost housing. — VDV, GMA Integrated News