MANILA, Philippines ? (UPDATE) After defending Globe Asiatique Holdings Corp. over its handling of housing loans with the Pag-IBIG fund in a radio interview on Monday, former vice president Noli de Castro admitted that he ordered an investigation into the real estate firm?s allegedly questionable loans before he stepped down from office.

De Castro in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) on Monday said that he ordered an investigation of property developer Globe Asiatique Holdings Corp.'s housing loans as well as the implementation of corrective measures ?based on the existing policy? of the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag- IBIG before his term expired last June 30.

De Castro urged his critics to stop dragging his name into the ?bogus loans? controversy in his capacity as former chair of the Pag- IBIG Board.

?I received complaints about some borrowers in Asiatique whose loans had been approved despite lack of documents or requirements as early as March this year. So I ordered Serge Andal, Pag-ibig's vice president in charge of regional housing, to investigate it,? De Castro told the PDI in an interview.

He said that results of the investigation that came out in the first week of June this year did not only confirm the complaints but it also bared the existence of ?bogus loans? wherein the names of Pag-ibig members were used in securing loans.

According to reports, Asiatique was able to stash around P7 billion in housing loan proceeds by registering dead people or ineligible borrowers members.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has already asked the developer to explain reports of questionable housing loans it made through its underwriter, BDO Capital and Investment Corporation to determine if it had committed fraud in its housing projects with Pag-ibig.

?It was already June and my term was about to expire at that time. However, I ordered the implementation of corrective measures based on our existing policy in order to address this problem,? De Castro said.

Such measures included ?buy-back? wherein the developer has the option to buy back the property after two years, and ?substitution? or allowing new qualified members to borrow and purchase the properties secured under questionable circumstances to recover the loans, De Castro said.

?So sabi ko sa kanila solusyunan iyan based on our existing policy. Hindi mo naman kailangan bulabugin. Inaayos na nila iyan unti-unti nang sumabog sa media (So I told them to solve the problem based on our existing policy. There was no need to rock the boat. Things were being threshed out gradually when the news suddenly exploded in media),? he stressed.

De Castro insisted that it was the Pag-IBIG president who was involved in the day-to-day operation of the Fund, and not him as the board chairman.

?We in the board were only involved in major policy,? he added.

Earlier, the PDI monitored De Castro?s interview with the radio station dzRH wherein he said that the so-called "ghost borrowers" were actually applicants who failed to complete their housing loan requirements.

He added that Globe Asiatique's problems may have been a result of a directive of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to cut the red tape in the processing of housing loans.

He noted that Globe Asiatique, like all other private land developers, merely processed housing applications based on certifications issued by Pag-IBIG Fund.

In the same radio interview, De Castro lauded Globe Asiatique?s buy-back guarantees saying that unlike most developers, which have been issuing two-year buy-back guarantees to protect the Pag-Ibig Fund contributions, Globe Asiatique has offered five-year guarantees. (With a report from Jerry E. Esplanada, Philippine Daily Inquirer)