Arnell Ignacio defends legality of P1.4-B land deal

SACKED Overseas Workers Welfare Association (Owwa) administrator Arnell Ignacio has maintained the regularity of the P1.4-billion land acquisition deal entered into by the agency under his leadership.

The deal was earlier tagged as anomalous by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

In a press conference, Ignacio stood firm that the land acquisition went through the lawful process and was scrutinized by the Owwa technical working group, which includes DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac.

“Lahat ng mga requirements sinunod at sinabing maayos ang aming pagkakasunod sa RA (Republic Act) 10752… Kaya ako gulat na gulat na tinawag itong anomalous deal,” he said.

(All the requirements were followed, and it was said that we properly complied with RA (Republic Act) 10752… That’s why I was so shocked when it was called an anomalous deal.)

“Napakabigat. Pagkatapos, napakaraming alegasyon sa akin. Saan nanggaling? Sa isang papel na walang nakapirma? Na andami-daming sinabi na kinita ko? Pati nga ‘yung numero, di na nga magkasundo kung magkano. Wala po akong kinita dito,” he added.

(It’s very heavy. And then, there are so many allegations against me. Where did they come from? From a paper with no signature? With so many claims about how much I supposedly earned? They can’t even agree on the figures. I didn’t earn anything from this.)

Ignacio pointed out that it was the Land Bank of the Philippines, which assessed the value of the land, subsequently the exact amount paid by Owwa.

“At sana man lang, binigyan ako ng pagkakataong makausap. Nagulat na nga lang po ako na isang araw, pinatawag ako na ako ay papalitan… ‘Yun po ang nangyari dito, di ko po ito itinago. Ito pong ganitong kagandang transaksyon, bakit namin itatago ito?” he said.

(And I wish I had at least been given the chance to talk. I was just suddenly called one day and told I was being replaced… That’s what happened here, I didn’t hide it. A transaction as good as this, why would we hide it?)

In an interview Saturday, May 24, 2025, Cacdac maintained that the deal, which was signed in September 2024 and was supposedly for the establishment of a half-way house or a dormitory-type accommodation for overseas Filipino workers to be located near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1, was anomalous.

He reiterated that deal was not approved by the Owwa Board of Trustees, noting that the decision to purchase the property and alter key provisions in the deed of absolute sale was never disclosed to the board, which was among the critical steps of the acquisition process.

Cacdac said in the initial deed of absolute sale, the Owwa is held accountable for the tax, but a later version redirected this obligation to involve a P36 million payment.

He said during the time of purchase, the land is occupied by a tenant with a leasing agreement where the Owwa assumed the role of “landlord” without formal approval from the board.

He said Ignacio authorized the former owner of the land to collect the rent.

“Hindi taga-Owwa ang pinakolekta niya ng upa worth P1.4 million, okay? ‘Yun na namang tao na binigyan niya ng P36 million, ‘yun na naman ang binigyan niya ng P1.4 million. At kung hindi pa siningil ay hindi pa ibibigay,” Cacdad said.

(He had someone who’s not from Owwa collect the P1.4 million rent, okay? The same person he gave P36 million to — that’s also who he gave the P1.4 million. And if it hadn’t been demanded, it wouldn’t have been turned over.)

He said the LandBank’s reliance on the Right of Way Law was not applicable during the purchase since there is no approved national infrastructure project and no board sanction to invoke it.

“So, may question mark ‘yung process na ‘yun at mukhang hindi pinaalam sa LandBank. So, again, that is all part of our investigation and we will have appropriate findings in that regard,” he added.

(So, there’s a question mark on that process, and it seems LandBank wasn’t informed. Again, that’s all part of our investigation, and we will release appropriate findings on the matter.) (TPM/SunStar Philippines)