Gov’t exec says PNP considered releasing Lee

MANILA, Philippines - A housing official who rushed to police headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City after the arrest of Globe Asiatique president Delfin Lee last week said yesterday that police officials were considering Lee’s release and had to be reassured of the legality of the arrest warrant.

“It is incredulous for the Philippine National Police (PNP) to even consider releasing an apprehended accused based on the mere representations of the latter’s lawyer on the purported invalidity of the warrant of arrest,” Daniel Subido, deputy secretary-general of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) said.

“Clearly, there must have been influential people that worked on the actual delisting of Lee from the Warrant of Arrest Information System and pressured the PNP to cause Lee’s release despite the existence of a valid warrant of arrest,” he added.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is also HUDCC chairman, had ordered Subido to go to Camp Crame immediately after Lee’s arrest.

Syndicated estafa charges were filed against Lee and several Globe Asiatique officials in December 2010 after an investigation revealed that the accused used fake documents and ghost borrowers who supposedly bought homes in the firm’s Xevera housing project in Mabalacat, Pampanga to secure P6.6 billion in loans from the Pag-IBIG Fund, now known as the Home Development Mutual Fund.

Subido said that Binay sent him to Camp Crame to ensure that the rule of law would be applied and the proper procedure followed on the arrest and detention of Lee after Binay received a report that there were influential people pressuring PNP officials to release Lee.

“When I arrived (at) Camp Crame, I was surprised that PNP officers were discussing the validity of Lee’s arrest based on the mere representations made and documents presented by his lawyer,” Subido said in his report to Binay.

“According to the PNP officers, the lawyer of Lee presented documents that showed that the warrant of arrest against the businessman has allegedly been quashed, recalled and lifted by the Court of Appeals (CA), and that the PNP was purportedly enjoined from implementing said warrant of arrest,” Subido added.

Subido said he had to explain and reassure the police officials that the warrant of arrest against Lee was valid and existing because only the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Pampanga, which issued the warrant, could quash, recall, or lift the arrest warrant.

“In fact, it was confirmed to me by (Senior Superintendent) Conrad Capa, the head of Task Force Tugis, that the task force verified with the Pampanga RTC that the warrant of arrest against Lee was still valid and existing despite the ruling of the CA dated Nov. 7, 2013 which purportedly quashed, recalled and lifted the warrant of arrest against Lee,” Subido said.

He said that the PNP had no authority or discretion to decide on the validity of the warrant of arrest, whether or not to arrest Lee based on the warrant, or whether or not to release Lee.

“Such a determination is the sole jurisdiction and discretion of the courts,” Subido said.

Subido said the events that occurred immediately after the arrest of Lee prove that certain influential people were pressuring the PNP to release the real estate developer.

“The circumstances that transpired immediately after the arrest of Lee coupled by the certification, memo and letters showing the delisting of Lee from the database of outstanding arrest warrants and ordering to enjoin the implementation of the arrest warrant against him previously issued by the PNP only show that influential people indeed pressured the PNP to favor Lee,” Subido said.

Subido also recommended that Pag-IBIG Fund formally commend Capa and Task Force Tugis for their “integrity and fortitude in apprehending and detaining Lee despite the pressure received from influential people.”

The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday upheld Lee’s warrant of arrest, effectively nullifying the Court of Appeals (CA)’s earlier order quashing his arrest warrant.

The SC’s order also stayed the appellate court from implementing its resolution clearing Lee of the charges of syndicated estafa.

The High Court issued the order after Pag-IBIG Fund appealed the CA’s decision to clear Lee.

Meanwhile, Sen. Nancy Binay is also seeking an investigation into the alleged delisting of Lee from the PNP’s “Most Wanted Persons List.”

The younger Binay filed Senate Resolution No. 567, which directs the appropriate Senate committees to launch an inquiry into the alleged removal of Lee’s name from the list as well as the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)’s issuance of a certification of the Globe Asiatique president’s removal from the warrant of arrest database.