RCD Land president Entrepreneur of the Year 2015 awardee
Roland C. Delantar, president and CEO of RCD Land Inc., is one of the awardees in the recently concluded search for the country’s most successful and inspiring entrepreneurs.
Delantar was one of 11 awardees of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2015 who received their awards recently at the Shangri-La Makati, for his exemplary achievement in founding his real estate development company and for his inspiring works particularly for helping poor people by providing them jobs and opportunities to better their lives.
The 2015 Entrepreneur of the Philippines award is an annual search conducted by the SGV Foundation in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine Business for Social Progress and the Philippine Stock Exchange.
This highly prestigious event which is now on its 11th year, recognizes inspiring men and women who demonstrate the de- termination, vision and innovative mindset that empowers these entrepreneurs in founding and operating sustainable, successful enterprises and drive social and economic change.
Born to a poor family in Leyte, Delantar moved to Manila to seek his fortune. Not having relatives in Manila, he got a job as a houseboy for a lawyer, who was impressed by his work ethic and potential, that his employer helped him enrol in college to what is now the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
He took up accountancy. To support his college education he sold sacks, hygiene products, vans and batteries. When he passed the board, he moved to the company’s accounting department where he worked for another four years until he decided to do it on his own.
When he had enough savings, he would invest it in a bargain property and would resell it for a profit.
RCD Land Inc. was put up in 1987 initially as a real estate broker. From a brokerage, the company became a housing contractor until it became a property developer in 1997 with 33 townhouses in Imus, Cavite.
In 2005 he returned to real estate development establishing its niche in low cost housing of P450,000 for house and lot projects and P700,000 to P2 million for economic housing. And since then his company completed six housing subdivisions in Cavite and Bulacan, and is launching projects in Pasay, Batangas and Paranaque aside from a six- story commercial building in Guadalupe.
Using the zero defect program, he said he is able to make his customers happy and has very low back jobs. He maintains low production costs so he could sell his houses at prices lower than his competitors.
He encouraged the youth to aspire to be entrepreneurs and business owners so that they could employ more people in the country, instead of having them go abroad to work.
“I think entrepreneurship is the most enjoyable and rewarding career. Any type of business will do, but you should consider two things. First, you should know what you are doing, and secondly, you should enjoy doing what you do,” he emphasized.