Monday, May 25, 2009 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
By Lydia C. Pendon
CONGRESS has acted on the real estate industry through a law aimed to revolutionize and professionalize the real estate sector.
Senate Bill 2963 and House Bill 3514 will soon be condensed into one act to be signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo after both Houses of Congress approved the twin bills which seek to upgrade and professionalize the real estate service and create a Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service.
Iloilo City lone district Rep. Raul Gonzalez Jr., main proponent of the House bill, said the act, to be known as the Real Estate Service Act of the Philippines, is aimed to professionalize practitioners such as the real estate brokers, appraisers and consultants, except real estate developers, who shall undergo an examination given by the board once a year.
Gonzalez admitted that World Bank is monitoring the bill as an important legislation out to support its program on fiscal management of local government units.
Gonzalez said the act is a continuing education of real estate practitioners on land valuation so that proper real estate taxes can be implemented by the national and local governments.
A certificate of registration will be issued to practitioners who passed the examination for real estate service, including the professional identification card. It can only be revoked upon violations of the prescribed rules.
Gonzalez said the bill, expected to deter actions of fraudulent practitioners, is one of the four House bills he had sponsored to become a national law.
Other co-sponsors of the House bill are congressmen Raul del Mar, Eduardo Zialcita, Rodolfo Valencia and Marlen Abigail Binay.
The Senate counterparts are senators Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda and Alan Peter Cayetano.
