In its commitment to ensure effective regulation and governance for sustainable human settlement, the Ministry of Human Settlements and Development, the Housing Arm of the BARMM, visited local government offices in Basilan and met with officials on February 13-15, 2024 and discussed with them salient information on Homeowners Association (HOA) and requested pertinent real estate data for consolidation and databased programming.

Suharto S. Wahab, EnP, REA, REB, Director II for Technical and Regulatory Services led the technical team from the regional office in their series of meeting with LGU- Lamitan City, followed by Akbar Municipality, and concluded in Lantawan Municipality. Throughout the journey, they were joined by a team from the MHSD-Basilan Office led by Provincial Director (PD) Ibrahim M. Haruddain, LPT.

In every visit, LArcht. Jehanna M. Abdulkarim, OIC-Chief of Policy Development, Coordination and Regulation Division, elaborated on the technical and regulatory services provided by the MHSD. Meanwhile, Aleyah B. Pundogar, Housing and Homesite Regulations Officer I, comprehensively presented the roles, advantages, and the procedural requisites for the formation or organization of HOA.

After each session, the MHSD requested and were able to collect relevant real estate data and identified communities that are that can be organized into HOAs through the local executives.

“Our field monitoring endeavor in Basilan Province has been proven invaluable in augmenting our regulatory and monitoring capacities. Through diligent efforts, we have successfully gathered additional data on real estate holdings, thereby fortifying our regulatory framework and enhancing our ability to monitor developments within the province. With this information, we are set to assist these communities in establishing HOAs, thereby empowering them to sustain and enhance their respective neighborhoods,” said Chief Abdulkarim.