Resurrection of Delfin Lee

Controversial low-cost housing mega builder Delfin Lee is back in harness and had latched himself with some power brokers.

The quintessential sycophant is out on bail after being indicted for an alleged scam that defrauded state loan agency Pag-IBIG of P7 billion worth of contributors’ money.

The Supreme Court in July 2018, however, said in a majority decision that there was no syndicated estafa and granted bail to Lee.

The case of Lee and Globe Asiatique (GA) was one of the high-profile cases that the Supreme Court decided in 2018.

GA engaged Pag-IBIG in 2008 for a scheme that allowed the developer to process directly with Pag-IBIG the loan applications of buyers of the Xevera housing project in Pampanga.

Pag-IBIG released P7 billion to GA within two years until 24 September 2010, representing a total of 9,951 accounts.

A check on the borrowers, however, “discovered some fraudulent transactions and false representations purportedly committed by Globe Asiatique, its owners, officers, directors, employees, and agents/representatives, in conspiracy with Pag-IBIG employees.”

Even Lee’s own employees ceded being instructed to recruit “special buyers” of the housing units to take out a loan from Pag-IBIG. Lee devised a plan where later on, real buyers could take over the housing unit built with the aid of contributors’ funds from Pag-IBIG.

It was admitted before Sen. JV Ejercito’s panel in a 2014 probe that an unusually huge P5 billion loan of GA head Delfin Lee was endorsed to the lead shelter financing agency Pag-IBIG Fund.

Despite the tight watch on the development of the scandal from former Vice President Jojo Binay who was then concurrently Pag-IBIG chairman, Lee tried to harness powerful forces to negotiate with the Palace to let him off the hook in the multi-billion-peso mess.

ABS-CBN has a foundation that had received huge support from Lee in its projects primarily the setting up of the ABS-CBN Foundation headquarters and the Bayan ni Juan in Calauan, Laguna.

Lee also had strong tie-ups with ABS-CBN’s reality show Pinoy Big Brother. The first PBB house was built through GA funding and was derived from a unit of St. Monique Valais, which was one of GA’s flagship projects.

Lee was also a big backer of actor Willie Revillame’s Wowowee when Revillame was still with ABS-CBN.

In the Bigtime Pera o Bayong game portion of the Revillame show, the most coveted prize was a G.A. house and lot.

Lee’s name is again expected to ring loud in the business world since he certainly is clinging on a personality with solid connections.

Sustainability in practice

In a world where sustainability often feels like a buzzword tossed around at coffee shop meetings, the Philippines is proving that its green dreams are more than just idle chatter.

Recently, two Philippine establishments were honored in the energy efficiency and conservation Best Practices Awards 2024 in the Building and Industry Category.

SM City Butuan secured the 2nd Runner-up position in the New and Existing Building sub-category of the Energy Efficient Building Category, while Ayala Malls Vertis North was recognized as the 2nd Runner-up in the Small and Medium Building sub-category of the Energy Management in Building Category.

Both establishments were acknowledged for their innovative technologies and construction techniques aimed at reducing energy consumption.

Additionally, the ASEAN Excellence in Energy Management Award in the Individual Category was awarded to Patrick T. Aquino, director of the Department of Energy’s Energy Utilization Management Bureau.

The ASEAN Energy Awards, organized by the ASEAN Center for Energy, represent Southeast Asia’s premier accolade, aimed at enhancing private sector participation in energy development in collaboration with the public sector.

The awards encompass three main categories: the ASEAN Coal Awards, the ASEAN Energy Efficiency and Conservation Best Practices Award, and the ASEAN Renewable Energy Project Awards.