We would like to thank the Inquirer for the article titled “Ways to avoid being a victim of property scams” (Property, 6/28/14) by Tessa R. Salazar, which we believe should be most helpful to the buying public. As the Inquirer knows, the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) is also principally mandated to protect the interest of condominium unit and subdivision lot buyers, pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 957.
Hard and unwelcome facts have put an end to many of the theories advanced to solve the land and housing problems of Metro Manila. History, like a good teacher, has examined our theories one by one over the last 50 years, and each time has sent us back to our desks to do better. We are all included in this learning process—the government, the United Nations, experts, nongovernment organizations, and the poor themselves.
Neal Cruz is to be complimented for beginning to lift the lid on the serious problems at the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board or HLURB (“Something is rotten in the state of HLURB,” Opinion, 12/1/13).
The Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) was created to regulate subdivisions and their homeowners’ associations, and the Magna Carta for Homeowners defines the rights and duties of homeowners. The Magna Carta provides, among others, why and how association officers can be removed from office. But it emphasizes that there should always be “due process,” which is guaranteed by the Constitution.
Since the start of President Aquino’s administration, urban poor people have worked with then Secretary Jesse Robredo and later with Secretary Mar Roxas of the Department of the Interior and Local Government to come up with a housing plan acceptable to both the poor and the government.
