DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/June 20) – Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation-Region XI arrested four individuals suspected of illegally selling raw lots located in Barangay Callawa.
NBI-XI spokesperson Elias Leano said the four individuals, who are workers of a supposed real estate firm, were caught receiving money allegedly for payment of the raw lots during an entrapment operation inside their office in Barangay Tigatto on Thursday.
The alleged real estate firm put a signage that they were selling groceries and cosmetics. He said the suspects really offered those products but they were also selling raw lots, Leano said in a press conference at the NBI-XI office on Friday morning.
He said the firm has several clients who reside in Davao City.
They would sell sub-divided lots, measuring 100 to 300 square meters, for which they would get P360,000 as installment.
Leano, however, did not disclose the real estate properties involved in the alleged scam.
He said the suspects’ establishment in Tigatto has a “consultancy and realty” business permit that expired in 2022, but they have no valid documents such as a certificate of registration and license to sell lots from the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.
The alleged real estate agents, who also used Facebook to advertise their scheme, targeted people who are desperate to purchase raw lots at cheap prices. Leano said they are still looking for these individuals.
“The ones that we caught, they’re the ones who received the money, issued ledgers and payment receipts,” he said in Filipino.
He said the suspects will be charged with estafa and violations of Sections 4 and 5 of Presidential Decree No. 957.
Section 4 of PD 957 requires real estate developers to register their properties with the government, especially if it’s a land parcel which will be converted into a subdivision, while Section 5 obliges them to obtain a separate license to sell their properties. (Ian Carl Espinosa/Mindanews)
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