VICE President and housing czar Jejomar Binay on Wednesday ordered the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG) to appeal a recent Makati court decision, emphasizing that the case is not the main case of syndicated estafa filed against property developer and Globe Asiatique (GA) head Delfin Lee and his co-accused.

Binay, in a statement, said that the decision does not absolve Lee and his co-accused, adding that GA is only trying to mislead the public by filing a lot of incidental cases.

“Globe Asiatique is trying to mislead the public by claiming a legal victory but this is not the main case of syndicated estafa,” Binay said.

The Vice President also pressed law enforcement authorities to intensify their manhunt for Lee, who remains in hiding. Government has put a P2-million bounty for his arrest.

For her part, Pag-IBIG’s President and Chief Executive Officer Darlene Marie Berberabe said that GA did not win in the syndicated estafa case which is the main case in contention.

“GA filed a lot of incidental cases. And there is one civil case that they filed against Pag-IBIG to force us to respect the contract we had with GA,” Berberabe said.

“In that specific case we questioned the propriety of suing the Pag-IBIG board which isn’t an entity. The court said it is ok to sue the board even if it is not an entity. That is all. The court did not rule on the merits. Minor points itong pinag-uusapan,” she added.

Berberabe was referring to the recent decision of the Makati Regional Trial Court, Branch 58, declaring that Globe Asiatique and its owner, Lee, are entitled to specific performance and right to damages against HDMF, better known as Pag-IBIG Fund.

Pag-IBIG accused GA of using a “modified Ponzi” scheme to siphon off money amounting to P6.6 billlion from the Pag-IBIG Fund to develop its Xevera projects in Pampanga.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had earlier decided to junk a petition filed by Lee, which seeks to stop the Department of Justice from prosecuting him in connection with the syndicated estafa charges filed against him and other executives of GA.

The Pampanga Regional Trial Court also found probable cause against Lee and his co-accused and issued warrants for their arrest with no recommendation for bail.