Creba Cites Defensor, HLURB

The Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Associations (CREBA) has expressed its "sincere gratitude and special thanks" to Housing Secretary Michael Defensor, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), for abolishing the requirement of the Department of Agrarian Reform conversion order as a precondition for the issuance of the certificate of registration and license to sell to housing developers.

Earlier, CREBA had presented a resolution of gratitude to President Arroyo for her administration’s "enormous support" to the housing industry to make it "economically viable again." The President and heads of government housing agencies attended the culminating sessions of the CREBA-HUDCC national convention at the Holiday Inn, Mimosa Estate, Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga.

For the last few years, CREBA had been fighting for the abolition of the DAR conversion order as a pre-requisite for HLURB to issue registration and license to sell certificates to developer applicants.

Thus, CREBA national president Florentino Dulalia Jr. said the government’s latest action represented "a triumph for the housing industry, the housing program and the homeless people."

On behalf of the chamber, Dulalia presented the formal resolution of industry gratitude to Defensor.

CREBA also cited the "strong support" given by HUDCC vice chairman Amado Bagatsing and the entire HLURB led by CEO-commissioner Romulo Fabul for the passage of HLURB Resolution No. 748 which removed the DAR conversion order as a precondition for board action on developers’ housing projects.

Over the past decade and a half, the chamber said, the housing and real estate industry members had met "tremendous difficulties in obtaining land conversion orders for their various real estate development projects from DAR, that contributed immensely to delay in the start and completion of these projects."

duly expanded the coverage of its authority for conversion of land status to include even non-agricultural lands. This, CREBA said, violates the intent and provisions of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (RA 6657) which limits DAR authority to agricultural lands, qualified for distribution to farmer beneficiaries.

The CREBA resolution was signed by Purita R. Soliven, executive vice president; Orlando S. Bongat, VP-finance; Editha L. Manansala, VP-internal affairs; Techie P. Bautista VP-external affairs; Avelina P. Acuna, VP-chapter affairs; Teresita C. Millan, treasurer; Jaime A. Cura, Franklin G. Fuentebella, Thaddeus R. Liamzon, Jerry M. Navarrete, Florente C. Ofrecio, and Demetrio L. Posadas, directors. The resolution was attested to board chairman Manuel M. Serrano, Dulalia and Luis B. Pangilinan Jr., corporate secretary. VBF