HLURB upholds ruling on BF group takeover

The Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) has upheld its earlier ruling to have a management committee takeover all management and financial operations of the United BF Homeowners Association Inc. (UBFHAI) in Parañaque despite efforts to nullify the order.

In a Nov. 8 resolution, a copy of which obtained by The STAR, the HLURB maintained its earlier decision calling for an audit of the organization’s financial statements from 2004 to present, based on complaints of alleged irregular disbursements amounting to more than P7 million.

The HLURB issued its latest ruling in response to the UBFHAI’s motion to reverse its earlier order shortly after the Mancom took over its affairs last month.

It effectively denied the motion but modified its order to allow a reorganization of the committee, which will now have four of the association’s board members to join the group.

The latest HLURB order reiterated that the committee is being authorized to “conduct of audit or examination of transactions alleged as unaccounted  for, questionable, or irregular.”

It was also tasked to “discharge day-to-day administrative and financial operations such as payment of utilities, supplies, employee’s salaries, security and other basic services, accept payments all in the regular course of business.”

The committee was directed to call for an election of UBFHAI sectoral representatives and officers 30 days after submission of final audit report to the Homeowners Association Franchising Unit of the Expanded NCR Field Office (HAFU-ENCRFO).

The nine-page resolution, signed by Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer Romulo Fabul along with Commissioners Teresita Desierto, Jesus Pang, and Arturo Dublado, sets aside the Oct. 11 order as well as that of April 11, May 19, June 14,  and July 12.

The HLURB maintained that because of allegedly questionable disbursements and how corporate records show that no financial statements were filed from 2004 to 2006, “there is no denying that the financial affairs of the UBFHAI seriously need looking into.”

Former UBFHAI president Rolando Navarro, who filed the case against UBFHAI president Celso Reyes as the main respondent in the complaint, said it is important to note that the latest HLURB order no longer tells Reyes to report to the committee.

He added that the HLURB’s move to have four members of the association’s board of directors join the committee also presents problems for the incumbent president, because they are also impleaded in the case.

Navarro interprets the ruling as another victory for those who are trying to expose and stop alleged graft and corruption in the organization.

Reyes maintains that there is no reason for the creation of a management committee in the first place because the allegations of financial irregularities have not yet been proven.

He said the UBFHAI did submit financial statements to the HLURB in 2004 and 2005 though it failed to do so last year because of a burglary in February 2006.

He insists that the entire UBFHAI is being asked to follow an “unlawful and irregular order” because its board members are intact and are not even a party to the original complaint.

Reyes said they filed another motion yesterday asking the HLURB to nullify its decision because the order is “full of holes.”

He also questioned how the Oct. 11 resolution only asked the committee to “audit” while the modified one now asks it to “take over.”

In reaction to Navarro’s interpretation that the latest order now excludes him, he said “I don’t know how a layman can interpret. As far as I am concerned, we are not bound to follow the order of the HLURB because it is illegal.”

Reyes said they will also not submit nominees to take management committee positions because doing so would mean recognizing the HLURB’s authority or jurisdiction.