Pag-IBIG Fund reacts to STAR article

MANILA, Philippines – Dear Mr. Belmonte:

I write you in reaction to the article entitled, “Pag-IBIG head says no irregularities in Globe Asiatique projects”, which came out in The Philippine STAR on Sept. 17, 2010.

I take exception to the statement in the article which said that I claimed there are no irregularities or no anomalies regarding Globe Asiatique’s Xevera housing projects in Bacolor and Mabalacat, Pampanga. I never made such assertion. I reviewed the transcript of the Sept. 13 public hearing conducted jointly by the Senate committee on finance and the committee on government corporation and public enterprise where Pag-IBIG officials were invited as resource persons. The said statement is not on record. In fact, during the previous hearing, I have categorically informed the Senate that we have already discovered that more than 400 borrowers have disclaimed applying for a Pag-IBIG loan and over a thousand more cannot be located.

Currently, we are still completing a thorough probe into the Xevera case. At the end of the exercise, we hope to determine the administrative, civil and criminal liabilities, as may be appropriate, of concerned parties.

Furthermore, may I add that in May this year, our Pampanga branch wrote GA’s Delfin Lee informing him of the negative results of the partial validation of Pag-IBIG member-buyers in the said projects. In his response, Mr. Lee admitted the existence of some 1,000 questionable buyers who have not been paying since take out.

The Fund has since instituted corrective measures provided in its housing loan guidelines to prevent the occurrence of such incident in the future. Added safeguards have also been placed to protect the Pag-IBIG Fund. These include suspension of GA’s access to the housing loan express lane facility, cancellation of its authority to conduct loan counseling, and the examination of loan folders and pre-inspection of housing units prior to take out of accounts.

We have likewise cancelled our collection servicing agreement with GA due to their failure to remit a single collection for three consecutive periods. The foregoing would not have been instituted had there been nothing wrong with the Xevera housing loan accounts.

The issue on the Globe Asiatique stemmed from the Fund’s discovery of spurious accounts in GA’s Xevera housing projects. Regarding Pag-IBIG Pampanga branch’s failure to strictly observe established internal control measures, the same has been subjected to investigation as we believe that had they been properly observed, problems in the accounts should have been immediately detected and prevented.

Finally, I also take strong exception to the manner the article was written. Without a byline, my understanding is that this is a press release. Its placement under the article “Binay vows major policy changes in housing sector” written by Danny Dangcalan, which was published on the same day, made the article look like real news. In the interest of fair presentation of facts, we hope that The Philippine STAR will also get the Fund’s side on the matter.

EMMA LINDA B. FARIA

Officer in Charge

Pag-IBIG Fund