MANILA, Philippines?The Office of the Ombudsman has stepped into the controversy over irregularities in a housing project in Pampanga province whose developer received some P7 billion from the Pag-IBIG Fund.

Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez Monday formed a panel to investigate the irregularities surrounding the Pag-IBIG loans for the housing projects of Globe Asiatique Realty Holdings Corp. in Bacolor, Mabalacat and Angeles City in Pampanga.

The panel will determine whether laws or regulations were violated, and file criminal and administrative charges if necessary.

Globe Asiatique is accused of taking out Pag-IBIG loans for its Xevera housing projects on behalf of people who had no idea that they were availing themselves of such loans.

Pag-IBIG, also known as the Home Development Mutual Fund, found that Globe Asiatique passed off as buyers of its townhouses people who were dead when they applied for loans or were not living in the addresses given.

Pag-IBIG also found that the developer took out the loans although the housing units had yet to be completed.

Globe Asiatique is an accredited developer of a pilot program for Other Working Groups (OWG), or workers who are not formally employed but earn money through small businesses.

The Ombudsman said Task Force Pag-IBIG was formed ?in the interest of justice.?

The task force is composed of six members and is headed by Melinda Mananghaya, graft investigation and prosecution officer.

Acting Assistant Ombudsman Joselito Fangon has been designated as the one who would sign all legal processes in connection with the investigation.

Other probes

Last week, Vice President Jejomar Binay, also head of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said charges (of falsification of documents) were being readied by Pag-IBIG Fund against Globe Asiatique.

He said his office had started looking into the case shortly after he assumed his HUDCC post in mid-July.

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales and two other congressmen are seeking an inquiry into the large-scale use of Pag-IBIG funds in financing what they called ?questionable housing projects.?

De Castro explanation

Former Vice President Noli de Castro Monday said he himself ordered an investigation of Globe Asiatique?s questionable housing loans before his term expired on June 30.

De Castro, ex-HUDCC chair, said he also ordered the implementation of corrective measures ?based on existing policy? of Pag-IBIG.

He asked 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,? De Castro told the Inquirer.

?So I ordered Serge Andal, Pag-IBIG?s vice president in charge of regional housing, to investigate it,? he added.

De Castro said results of the investigation that came out in the first week of June did not only confirm the complaints but also found the existence of ?bogus loans? in which the names of Pag-IBIG members were used in securing the loans.

Rules adjusted

It was Delfin Lee, Globe Asiatique president, who said that De Castro was instrumental in adjusting rules like reducing membership requirements for the OWG program.

?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.

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

?So I said ?find a solution based on our existing policy.? They were slowly addressing the problem when it exploded in the media,? he said.