RESA LAW IRR published last July 24, 2010

Hereunder is the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 9646, known as the Real Estate Service Act of the Philippines which was published last July 24, 2010 and first posted by Ms. Cherry Castillo,wife of Jay Castillo who manages the website "Foreclosure Philippines", the No. 1 website in the Philippines that deals in real estate and related matters.

The much-awaited Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9646, known as the “Real Estate Service Act of the Philippines” or RESA Law was finally published last July 24, 2010 in the Philippine Star, and will be effective fifteen days therefrom or on August 8, 2010. Click here for the full text of the approved and published RESA Law IRR. For a brief background, please also refer to my husband’sprevious post for a copy of the full text of the RESA Law and its salient points.

The main goal of the RESA Law IRR and the RESA Law is the professionalization of the practice of real estate in the Philippines. What does this mean to the ordinary Filipino, in simple terms?

When we say professionalization, for me it means that there are subjects that need to be studied, exams that need to be passed, and rules that need to be followed. Thus, not everybody can enter the real estate profession. Only those who are qualified can be allowed to practice, and those who are allowed to practice need to follow rules to maintain their membership in the profession.

It is hoped that with these new rules, real estate transactions will be multiplied and be concluded faster, and instances of swindling or other illegal practices will be eradicated or at least minimized.

In my opinion, the important points of the RESA Law IRR are as follows:

• Only those who have passed the licensure examinations and have complied with the requirements can practice real estate service in the Philippines. [Refer to Section 29 of the RESA Law IRR on the prohibition against the unauthorized practice of real estate.]
• The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) will implement a bachelor’s degree in Real Estate Service. Once this is implemented, the Board will make the course a requirement for taking the licensure examinations.
• In the meantime that the bachelor’s degree is not yet implemented, applicants with other relevant bachelor’s degrees can take the examination provided that they have  completed 120 units of real estate subjects and training from accredited service providers (among other requirements). More on this later.
• There are certain requirements for those who want to be registered without examination [Refer to Section 20], particularly for those who have passed the licensure examination in the past. More on this later.

I know that there are some people who have been lobbying against some provisions of the draft IRR (particularly Section 28 about the proposed exemption of employees of developers from the coverage of the law), so I checked the published IRR and noted that the “insertions” they lobbied against have not been included in the final version (Kudos to the lobbyists!).

You may refer to a post of Mr. John Petalcorin, who is a passionate advocate of the RESA Law and professionalization of the real estate practice in general, with regard to the background of this story.

Moving on, I know that many of you are interested in the examination requirements so I reproduce here Section 14 of the IRR which is about the qualifications of applicants for examinations:

“SEC. 14. Qualification of Applicants for Examinations. In order to be admitted to the licensure examination for real estate service, a candidate at the time of filing his/her application, shall establish to the satisfaction of the Board that he/she possesses the following qualifications:

(a)  A citizen of the Philippines,

(b)  A holder of a relevant bachelor’s degree from a state university or college, or other educational institution duly recognized by the CHED; Provided, That he/she has completed at least one hundred twenty (120) credit units of real estate subjects and training from accredited service providers, as may be determined by the Board; Provided, further, That as soon as a course leading to a Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate Service is implemented by the CHED, the Board shall make this course a requirement for taking the licensure examination,

(c)  Is of good moral character, and must not have been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude,

(d)  An applicant for the licensure examination for real estate consultants must show proof that he/she has at least ten (10) years experience as a licensed real estate broker, or an assessor, or as a bank, or institutional appraiser, or an employed person performing real property valuation, or at least five (5) years experience as a licensed real estate appraiser.

xxx”

Based on the above provision, my question mainly is with regard to the 120 credit units of real estate subjects. Do we have to earn that many units before we can take the rumored December 2010 examinations? (I say rumored because there is no mention in the IRR about the date of examinations, but there should be at least one since it would probably be in June 2011 at the earliest when a Real Estate Service course is ready, and my husband Jay mentioned that there will be one in December based on his reliable sources).

If we are to take a seminar worth 8 hours per day, that would be 15 days of 8-hour seminar-days. I wonder how much the seminars will cost. Hmmm. Incidentally, the REBAP Marikina River City Chapter intends to hold seminars for the upcoming examinations. No word yet as to the exact schedule and seminar fees though. If you want to be updated, please subscribe to e-mail alerts (if you haven’t yet) as we will post the details as soon as they are available.

I hope my UP Open University Continuing Professional Education Program on LandValuation – Introduction to and Valuation and Management (CPEPLV-ILV) course will be part of my credits. It looks like it, based on the course title. But I’ll have to ask my teacher and classmates [Hi classmates!] first and I’ll let you know.

Another question in my mind as regards Section 14 above is the meaning of “relevant” bachelor’s degree. What bachelor’s degrees will they deem as “relevant”? I am not aware of the deliberations so I really can’t say which degrees are relevant or not.

As for those who have already passed the Real Estate Brokers’ Examination in the past, Section 20 governs, as follows:

SEC. 20. Registration Without Examination.~ Upon application and payment of the required fees, the following shall be registered, and shall be issued by the Board and the Commission a certificate of registration and a professional identification card without taking the prescribed examination:

(a)  Those who, on the date of the effectivity of R.A. No. 9646 or as of 31 July 2009, are already licensed as real estate brokers, real estate appraisers or real estate consultants by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) by virtue of Ministry Order No. 39, as amended: Provided, That they are in active practice as real estate brokers, real estate appraisers, and real estate consultants, and that they have undertaken relevant Continuing Professional Education (CPE) or Continuing Education Program (CEP) to the satisfaction of the Board; Provided, further, That the following practitioners shall be allowed to register:

1. Any holder of a valid DTI license who has earned fifteen (15) Continuing Education Program or CPE credit units;
2. Those who failed to renew their DTI License prior to 30 July 2009 but who have earned twenty four (24) CEP credit units from accredited service providers as per M.O. 39 or CPE credit units from CPE Council Accredited Provider from 2007 to July 30, 2011;
3. Those who had passed the 2009 & 2008 licensure examinations given by the DTI but who failed to obtain their license upon the effectivity of the R.A. No. 9646 and who have earned fifteen (15) CEP or CPE credit units;
4. Those who had passed the 2007 licensure examinations given by the DTI but who failed to obtain their license upon the effectivity of the R.A. No. 9646 and who have earned eighteen (18) CEP or CPE credit units;
5. Those who had passed the DTI licensure examinations in 2006 and prior years but who had failed to obtain their license upon the effectivity of the R.A. No. 9646 and who have earned one hundred twenty (120) CEP or CPE credit units;

Provided finally, That real estate practitioners falling under the above-described categories who fail to comply with the necessary CPE requirements within two (2) years after the effectivity of R.A. No. 9646, on or before 30 July 2011, shall be required to take the Board licensure examination for real estate service practitioners;

(b)  Assessors and appraisers who, on the date of the effectivity of R.A. No. 9646 or as of 30 July 2009, hold permanent appointments and are performing actual appraisal and assessment functions for the last five (5) years, have passed the Real Property Assessing Officer (RPAO) examination conducted and administered by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in coordination with the Department of Finance (DOF), and have undertaken relevant CPE to the satisfaction of the Board; and

(c)  Assessors and appraisers who, on the date of the effectivity of R.A. No. 9646 or as of 30 July 2009, hold permanent appointments and have at least ten (10) years actual experience in real property appraisal or assessment and have completed at least one hundred twenty (120) hours of accredited training on real property appraisal conducted by national or international appraisal organizations or institutions/entities duly certified by the Department of Finance (DOF) or any other pertinent national government agencies or Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCC), as the case may be, recognized by the Board and relevant CPE credit units to the satisfaction of the Board.

Those falling under categories (b) and (c) shall register with the Board after they shall have complied with the requirements for registration as real estate appraisers, and have completed twenty four (24) CPE credit units.  Provided, That those seeking to be licensed to a new credential level shall be required to take the pertinent Board licensure examination for real estate service practitioners.

Those so exempt under the aforementioned categories shall file their application within two (2) years from the effectivity of Republic Act No. 9646 or until 30 July 2011. Provided, That the renewal of the professional identification card is subject to the provisions of Section 17, Art. III of R.A. No. 9646.

xxx”

Please read the full text of the RESA Law IRR as well as the RESA Law and let us know your comments and/or questions. There are many people who are in favor of RESA and there are many as well who are not. But I believe that we should always look at the bright side of everything. There are a myriad opportunities available today in real estate and personally, I think that the RESA Law and IRR are positive steps for the Philippines.

Cherry Castillo

For those who are interested in becoming a Real Estate Broker and Real Estate Appraiser, an examination to be conducted by the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) will be given on March ___, 2012 respectively at various venues in the Philippines. A pre-examination review will be conducted by the PAREB-CEREB, Sacred Heart Center, Cebu scheduled on October 27, November 10, 17, 24 and Dec. 1, 2012. Registration is P500.00. 
Seminar Fee is P15,000.00. Early Bird gets a 10% discount....Oct. 1-15, 2012. 

An orientation seminar will also be conducted by the Palompon Realty and Brokerage in relation to the above subject matter. For more information please contact Realtor GREG M. ELEP at Tel: (053)555-84-64 or Cell # 09164422611 or email at gregmelep@gmail.com