THE PLAREB - RESA CONNECTION

(By President 2008 Guia Crisostomo - taken from Souvenir Program 2012)

     Yes, dear Plarebian.  There is a RESA - PLAREB connection.

     It was 11 years ago, on April 26, 2001, during the Presidency of Rasyl B. Abela, that the members of the Sub-Committee on Legislation of the PLAREB Committee on Taxation, Legislation and Inter-Board Relations got a stamp of approval from our board of directors to formally turn over the "Final Draft of the Proposed Real Estate Service Act of the Philippines" to the national board, PAREB.  With it was the recommendation that the final draft be adopted for the endorsement to the First Regular Session of the Twelfth Congress in the Philippines.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

     The sub-committee who laboriously worked through several drafts was led by Marcelino "Mars" Pompa, now with the Las Pinas City Real Estate Board, and members Filemon "Atty. Mon" Fernandez, Fernando Roa, Emiliano Macalagay, Elias Manago, Alessandro V. Caipang, Ceferino Ilagan and Ma. Daphne Bereciarte.  The result ws a thirteen-page document that began with Article 1 Section 1 that says "This Act shall be known as the Real Estate Service Act of the Philippines".  There were 43 sections in all, comprehensively touching salient aspects of the practice among which are the creation and composition of the Board of Real Estate Service, its powers and functions; licensure and scope of examination; IRR and Code of Ethics; Continuing Professional Education Program; and Penal provisions.

     PLAREB's involvement did not end here.  Over a period of time and hand in hand with then PAREB President Luis Melchor "Louie" Serquina and then IPREC President Oscar "Opie" Garcia, our own Atty. Mon Fernandez, Mars Pompa and sub-committee members faithfully participated in discussions and deliberations on the proposed bill with various groups and personalities such as the Technical Working Committee of the House Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation, Rep. Eduardo C. Zialcita, then DTI-BTRCP head Atty. Ruth Tan and the Professional Regulatory Commission or PRC.

     But as the usual fate of most collaborative pieces of work goes, the PLAREB version of the RESA has since then undergone several revisions within the halls of the Philippine Congress the final version being Republic Act 9646: The Real Estate Service Act of the Philippines.

     Notwithstanding its transformation, we PLAREBIANS should never lose the same passion that compelled our predecessors to craft such a catalytic piece of work.  Let us continue to be advocates of their mission that was so eloquently expressed by Atty. Mon, who in his own words said "to elevate, by our conduct, example and work ethic, the real estate service practice to the level of the rest of the professions in the country today, and secure for our profession its due recognition as a respectable field of human endeavor and a significant contributor to nation building."

     I believe that these words were not just about a vision.  It was also a fervent prayer and to which I say "AMEN".

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