DHSUD BACKS CLAMOR TO RESUME BUYING, SELLING IN HOUSING SECTOR UNDER GCQ

QUEZON CITY – Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario is supportive to the clamor of real estate brokers and developers to resume buying and selling activities in the housing sector in areas under the general community quarantine (GCQ), but with strict implementation of COVID-19 safety protocols.

In a recent Management Committee meeting, top officials of the DHSUD tackled the request letters from the Philippine Association of Real Estate Brokers (PAREB) and the Organization of Socialized and Economic Housing Developers of the Philippines (OSHDP) clamoring for the resumption of buying and selling activities.

In its letter to DHSUD, PAREB asked for the inclusion of buying and selling activities under the GCQ; moratorium on the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and temporary suspension of the requirement on renewal of licenses from the Professional Regulatory Commis-sion (PRC) and DHSUD; provide assistance to real estate practitioners to help them survive the crisis, and extend assistance to real estate firms to help survive and preserve the employment of their employees.

“Real estate practitioners depend on the activity of buying and selling of real estate. Its exclusion from the list of allowable activities under GCQ is tantamount to denying 1.5 million real estate practitioners their source of income and means of survival in this crisis,” PAREB stated.

Secretary Del Rosario, in response, recognized the need for real estate developers, brokers and agents to resume work to cope-up with the adverse economic effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The DHSUD chief vowed to push for PAREB and OSHDP’s requests to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) but with strict guidance for the implementation of safety protocols under GCQ.

Secretary Del Rosario tasked DHSUD officials to immediately craft guidelines for the developers and brokers to follow, if and when they are allowed to resume activities, stressing that the health and safety of workers is paramount.

The national government has already downgraded some regions in the country from the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to GCQ as interventions to address COVID-19 in the said areas have already improved.

However, the National Capital Region and Regions 3 and 4A, where there is huge concentration of real estate development, remained under ECQ.