Hi Mga Friends,

Just a reminder to Real Estate clients or planning to invest on a property in the Philippines. Magingat po tayo sa mga colorum na real estate brokers, make sure to check their legitimacy first before dealing with them.

a copy from REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9646

SEC. 29.

Prohibition Against the Unauthorized Practice of Real Estate Service. No person shall practice or offer to practice real estate service in the Philippines or offer himself/herself as real estate service practitioner, or use the title, word, letter, figure or any sign tending to convey the impression that one is a real estate service practitioner, or advertise or indicate in any manner whatsoever that one is qualified to practice the profession, or be appointed as real property appraiser or assessor in any national government entity or local government unit, unless he/she has satisfactorily passed the licensure examination given by the Board, except as otherwise provided in R.A. No. 9646 and the IRR is a holder of a valid certificate of registration and professional identification card or a valid special/temporary permit duly issued to him/her by the Board and the Commission; and, in the case of real estate brokers and private appraisers, they have paid the required bond as provided. for in R.A. No. 9646.

SEC. 31. Supervision of Real Estate Salespersons.

For real estate salespersons, no examination shall be given, but they shall be accredited by the Board, provided that they have completed at least two (2) years of college and have undergone training and 14

seminars of at least twelve (12) credit units in real estate brokerage. Those salespersons who are registered with the DTI/HLURB or other salespersons who are in the active practice for at least three (3) years, as may be certified by a licensed broker or a real estate developer, prior to the effectivity of R.A. No. 9646 may also be accredited by the Board until 30 July 2011. Provided, further, that in both cases, such Real Estate Salespersons must have undergone at least one hundred twenty (120) training hours in real estate brokerage, and have submitted original NSO certificate of live birth/ birth certificate, NBI clearance, certificate of educational attainment or its equivalent, notarized certificate of training or seminar and notarized certificate of their supervising licensed brokers, as may be required by the Board. Real estate salespersons shall be under the direct supervision and accountability of a real estate broker. As such, they cannot by themselves be signatories to a written agreement involving a real estate transaction unless the real estate broker who has direct supervision and accountability over them is also a signatory thereto. No real estate salesperson, either directly or indirectly, can negotiate, mediate or transact any real estate transaction for and in behalf of a real estate broker without first securing an authorized accreditation as real estate salesperson for the real estate broker, as prescribed by the Board. A real estate broker shall be guilty of violating R.A. No. 9646 or the IRR for employing or utilizing the services of a real estate salesperson when he/she has not secured the required accreditation from the Board prior to such employment.

No salesperson shall be entitled to receive or demand a fee, commission or compensation of any kind from any person, other than the duly licensed real estate broker who has direct control and supervision over him, for any service rendered or work done by such salesperson in any real estate transaction.

SEC. 32. Corporate Practice of the Real Estate Service.

(a) No partnership or corporation shall engage in the business of real estate service unless it is duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the persons authorized to act for the partnership or corporation are all duly registered and licensed real estate brokers, appraisers or consultants, as the case may be. The partnership or corporation shall regularly submit a list of its real estate service practitioners to the Commission and to the SEC as part of its annual reportorial requirements. There shall at least be one (1) licensed real estate broker for every twenty (20) accredited salespersons.

(b) Divisions or departments of partnerships and corporations engaged in marketing or selling any real estate development project in the regular course of business must be headed by full-time registered and licensed real estate brokers.

(c) Branch offices of real estate brokers, appraisers or consultants must be manned by a duly licensed real estate broker, appraiser or consultant as the case may be.

In case of resignation or termination from employment of a real estate service practitioner, the same shall be reported by the employer to the Board within a period not to exceed fifteen (15) days from the date of effectivity of the resignation or termination. Subject to the provisions of the Labor Code, a corporation or partnership may hire the services of registered and licensed real estate brokers, appraisers or consultants on commission basis 15 to perform real estate services and the latter shall be deemed independent contractors and not employees of such corporations.

SEC. 38. Indication of the Certificate of Registration, Professional Identification Card/License Number, Privilege Tax Receipt (PTR) Number, and Accredited Integrated Professional Organization (AIPO) Number. Real estate service practitioners shall be required to indicate the certificate of registration, professional identification card, PTR number, and AIPO membership and /or receipt number, and the date of 16

issuance and the duration of validity on the documents he/she signs, uses or issues in connection with the practice of his/her profession.

SEC. 39. Penal Provisions.

Any violation of R.A. 9646, including violations of this IRR, shall be meted the penalty of a fine of not less than one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than two (2) years, or both such fine and imprisonment upon the discretion of the court. In case the violation is committed by an unlicensed real estate service practitioner, the penalty shall be double the aforesaid fine and imprisonment. In case the violation is committed, by a partnership, corporation, association or any other juridical person, the partner, president, director or manager who has committed or consented to or knowingly tolerated such violation shall be held directly liable and responsible for the acts as principal or as a co-principal with the other participants, if any.