Realtors group to press for President Estrada’s resignation

The Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Associations (CREBA) will convene in an emergency meeting at the Club Filipino tomorrow, Nov. 6, at 8:30 a.m. to take up a formal resolution calling on President Estrada to resign for having lost the moral right to govern the nation amid charges of receiving money from jueteng operations.

This was announced by lawyer Manuel M. Serrano, CREBA chairman. He said he has asked the CREBA board of directors, its national officers, the members of the Council of Leaders, and the officers of the various CREBA chapters nationwide to attend the special meeting.

The CREBA, the largest grouping of industry corporate and individual professional players, held its 2000 national convention last Oct. 26-28 at the Asiaworld Resort Hotel in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. Convention theme was ‘Challenges & Opportunities in the New Millennium.’ In one of its convention sessions, two opposing panels argued on the debate preposition "The economy will collapse if Erap will not give up." The affirmative side drew a much bigger crowd to its side in the convention hall while the debate was going on. It was participated in by industry members, academic sector representatives, and CREBA national and chapter officers.

Among those who spoke during the panel discussions were Francisco Floro, president, Floro Enterprises; Efren Alas, senior partner, Preferred Ventures Corp.; Augusto Steve Legasto Jr., of the Legasto Group of Companies; Dr. Marcelo M. Casilan Jr., president, Ayala Property Management Corp.; Serrano; Victor V. Soliven, a former CREBA president; lawyer Stephen C. Arceño. Capiz chapter president; Quintin P. San Diego, Nueva Ecija chapter president; lawyer Cesilo Adaza, Cagayan de Oro chapter president.

Dr. Jaime A. Cura, CREBA national president, opened the convention. Rosemarie C. Basa, CREBA executive vice-president, was overall convention chairperson.

Architect Felino Palafox Jr., principal architect and urban planner-founder and managing partner of the Palafox Associates, spoke on ‘Development Plan for Puerto Princesa and Palawan’ during the working lunch on the last convention day.

The speakers during the module on ‘Opportunities and Threats in the Real Estate Industry’ were Director Dennis R. Miralles of Investment Assistance Department, Board of Investments, who talked on the investment climate; architect Henry L. Yap, vice-president, Fort Bonifacio Development Corp., who spoke on ‘Property Trends Forecast;’ architect Jose Danilo A. Silvestre, head of the Urban Design Laboratory, UP college of architecture, ‘City Revitalization: Addressing the Challenges Facing Urban Centers;’ Corazon M. Ravara, OIC-LGU Division, Coordinating Council for Private Sector Participation of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Center of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), on BOT projects.

Puerto Princesa Vice-Mayor Vicky de Guzman welcomed the CREBA convention participants. She cited investment opportunities in Puerto Princesa and Palawan waiting to be tapped to benefit not only their inhabitants, but also the rest of the country. The CREBA Palawan chapter under Pete N. Montejo and Col. Elpidio J. Loleng, president and chairman, respectively, hosted the CREBA convention.

During the outreach program which was open to the public and interested practitioners, the following spoke:

Dr. Eduardo C. Zailcita, CREBA vice-president for external affairs, and president, Professional Ventures Group, on overview of the real estate business; architect Prosperidad C. Luis, national president, United Architects of the Philippines, planning and designing projects; Demetrio L. Posadas, president, Fortune Start Construction & Development Corp., developing real estate projects; Avelina P. Acuña, chairman, Real Estate Brokers Association of the Philippines, marketing real estate projects; and Victor T. Salinas, chairman Philippine Association of Realty Appraisers, on zonal valuation and continuing education program.