The Supreme Court will look into the grievances aired by thousands of homeowners of subdivisions of Globe Asiatique Realty Holding Corp. in Pampanga who were caught up in a dispute between the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) and developer Delfin Lee.
In a one-page resolution, the SC ordered its Clerk of Court to address the relief sought in the four-page letter last December 2015 of the homeowners’ associations of GA’s Xevera projects in Mabalacat and Bacolor.
“The Court resolved to note the letter of Xevera Mabalacat Homeowners’ Association and Xevera Bacolor Homeowners’ Association, inquiring on the status of these cases. The Court further resolved to refer the aforesaid letter to the clerk of court for appropriate action,” the resolution dated March 15, 2016 stated.
In a four-page letter to Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, the two homeowners associations said Pag-IBIG has already admitted to them that they “got caught in the middle of the lengthy court proceedings,” prompting them to bring the matter to the SC.
Through Rolando Santos, president of the Xevera Mabalacat Homeowners Association, the homeowners lamented that they have suffered collateral injuries because of the cases against the GA and its owner Delfin Lee.
The homeowners lamented that they “continue to live in uncertainty and suffer the risk of being dispossessed of homes that we have bought with hard-earned money.”
“As buyers of homes, we simply relied on a government housing program that we believed was working to serve the interest of the poor. But it
seems we were proved wrong. And now we suffer for having placed our
trust in the system,” they said.
Santos said they elevated their appeal to Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno as suggested by Pag-IBIG Fund president and CEO Darlene Berberabe, who earlier rejected their plea to continue payment of their monthly dues for their housing loans with the state-run agency.
“Officials of Pag-IBIG told us that they could not do anything on our appeal ‘until the Supreme Court resolves legal issues on the cases our developer is facing,’ even if we know that Pag-IBIG already lost in the civil case before the RTC [regional trial court] and the Court of Appeals where it was Pag-IBIG that was found to be liable,” they
stressed.
“Whatever the reason of the Pag-IBIG officials was in their cases against the developer of our subdivision, we are not involved there. If politics or any other motive is behind this, it is just right that we be spared from the issues and further sufferings pending the final disposition of the cases,” they stressed.
The associations composed of about 3,000 homeowners brought their appeal to the SC after Pag-IBIG rejected their plea to reestablish their loan records and continue payment of amortization.
Santos said they have been living in their respective homes but Pag-IBIG has ceased to recognize most if not all of them as legitimate home buyers and borrowers.
In their letter to the government housing financing agency early this month, the group cited Pag-IBIG Fund’s own testimony during the Senate’s Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the controversy that GA does not owe it P6.5 billionbut it is in fact the funding agency that owes the developer over P600 million.
On the issue of double sale, the group reiterated to Pag-IBIG Fund that they are living witnesses who can attest that not one of them experienced or encountered other persons knocking on their doors to also claim ownership of their units.
The homeowners who are living in the Xevera housing projects also cited in their letter to Pag-IBIG that “all of the 10,000 housing units were built and finished by the developer including all the necessary and extra ordinary amenities thereof.”
The homeowners said an appeal with the SC was the last resort they saw to resolve their fear and agony of losing the homes they worked hard for.
“It is our sincere desire and prayers, for the Supreme Court to finally provide a chance for the cases involving the alleged housing scam be deliberated as we seek for the earliest resolution of our current predicament,” the group stressed.
