DMW insists OWWA land deal 'anomalous'
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has refuted former Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Arnell Ignacio's claim that the P1.4-billion land acquisition deal went through proper legal channels.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac, along with other DMW officials, said that critical steps—most notably, obtaining approval from the OWWA Board of Trustees—were entirely bypassed.
According to Cacdac, under established law, any transaction and subsequent modifications involving OWWA properties must be presented to and approved by the Board of Trustees—which includes DMW representatives. However, the decision to purchase the property and alter key provisions in the Deed of Absolute Sale was never disclosed to the board.
'What we observed was an anomalous process. The money, which was refunded following our intervention, should have been produced as proof immediately,' Cacdac stated during an interview with GMA Integrated News.
DMW officials detailed that in September 2024, Ignacio amended the deed to shift the responsibility for the local transfer tax.
The original document clearly held OWWA accountable for the tax, but a later version redirected this obligation to involve a P36 million payment—a significant change that was made without notifying the board.
The investigation uncovered that Ignacio failed to disclose the presence of a leasing tenant occupying the property. The board later discovered that OWWA had, in effect, assumed the role of 'landlord' without formal approval.
In a pointed exchange, Cacdac questioned Ignacio's account of the transaction.
'I asked, 'Where is the rent?' and learned that it was still being collected by the previous landowner—someone who, without board approval, was authorized to act as a private rent collector for an amount reportedly around P1.4 million,' Cacdac explained.
He added that such practices run counter to standard procedures and exacerbate concerns over financial transparency.
Ignacio had earlier defended his actions by insisting that all transactions were reported to the board and that the property's valuation was properly assessed by the Land Bank of the Philippines—the designated government financial institution.
'It is the LandBank that determined the value, and the amount paid by OWWA reflects that assessment,' Ignacio said.
However, Cacdac argued that the LandBank's reliance on the Right of Way Law was misplaced.
'That law is not applicable to this purchase, especially when there's no approved national infrastructure project and no board sanction to invoke it,' he said.
DMW officials have already expanded their inquiry to the tax aspects of the deal. They are currently consulting with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to determine whether the proper tax—possibly value-added tax rather than capital gains tax—was applied, given that the seller is a realty corporation.
As the investigation continues, DMW remains committed to demanding full transparency and adherence to protocol in all transactions involving public funds. — VBL, GMA Integrated News
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