The Havitas Story

The idea for Havitas Developments began in mid 2015, when we saw the demand from landowners and investors for the development expertise we were already providing in our individual capacities, when we were still working for the real estate companies of some of the Philippine’s taipans.

Each founder brings a distinct specialization on top of a deep project development background. That combination lets us examine a potential project from every facet, and apply our collective knowledge to arrive at a winning formula for the development.

Because at the end of the day, everything we do, from studying the blank canvas of raw land, to imagining the best use of a property, to executing and bringing that vision to life, leads to building a better world for all of us.

Let’s Build a Better World.

We Value

Our Founders

Alejandro S. Mañalac

Co-Founder | Chairman 

Andy has over 35 years of real estate experience and is a recognized industry thought leader, frequently invited to speak by real estate organizations and investment forums in the Philippines and abroad.

He is the immediate past Chairman, for 3 consecutive years, of the National Real Estate Association, one of the biggest real estate professional organizations in the Philippines. He is Havitas’ company representative to the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Association (CREBA), where he currently serves as Vice President for International Affairs. Andy is also the Operating Principal of Keller Williams Manila Bay.

Andy brings a stellar record in real estate sales and sales leader development, built through senior positions across Philippine real estate developers: Chief Adviser of ThinkInvest Advisory Group, a lead network development channel of Filinvest Land, Inc.; Senior Vice President for Sales of Century Properties Group Inc.; Vice President for Sales of Eton Properties Philippines, Inc.; Sales Director for Robinsons Land Corporation; and Assistant Vice President for Moldex Realty & Marketing Inc.

Andy is a graduate of Computer Science from AMA University and is a Licensed Real Estate Broker since 1989. He is an International REALTOR® Member and a Certified International Property Specialist of the National Association of REALTORS® (USA).

Jonathan F. Caro

Co-Founder | President

Jojo brings 30 years of real estate experience in project development, feasibility studies, and market research and analysis for residential, office, commercial, retail and industrial projects. His experiences cover construction development, the management and coordination of local and international project development and construction teams, and strategic marketing and sales planning.

Jojo has held leadership positions across Philippine companies involved in real estate: Chief Operating Officer of Calmar Land Development Corporation & Major Homes, Inc.; Vice President of Eton Properties Philippines, Inc.; Executive Vice President of DEI Properties, Inc.; Real Estate Manager of Starbucks Philippines; Senior Assistant Vice President for Foreclosed Properties of the Philippine National Bank; Senior Project Development Office of Robinsons Land Corporation; Technical Services Manager of the Fil-Estate Group of Companies. He started his real estate career as an Administrative and Operations Assistant in Ayala Land, Inc.

Jojo is a Licensed Real Estate Broker and graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

David L. Rafael

Co-Founder | Managing Director

Dave leads the day to day direction of Havitas Developments as Managing Director, bringing over 35 years of expertise across every aspect of the property business. Before taking on the Managing Director role, Dave served for six years as President and CEO of Aboitiz Land, where he strengthened the company’s position in the industry through innovative developments and strategic growth initiatives.

Prior to that, Dave was Senior Vice President of the Commercial Properties Group of SM Prime Holdings, with overall management of over P95 Billion in commercial properties, including the Mall of Asia complex. He spearheaded SM’s entry into the office building market, growing the portfolio to seven office buildings with nearly 500,000 square meters of gross floor area. He conceptualized and implemented Skyranch Tagaytay, achieving investment payback in under 5 years.

Dave also spent over 20 years in Ayala Land, where he managed Ayala’s mall portfolio, including Glorietta, Greenbelt, Ayala Center Cebu and Alabang Town Center. He established Ayala Land’s pioneering in-house domestic salesforce and later set up Ayala Land International Sales.

Dave’s expertise extends to the masterplanning, feasibility, execution and estate management of large, integrated mixed-use developments, including the 170-hectare Central Business Park in Pasay City, which encompasses the 67-hectare Mall of Asia Complex; the 36-hectare Glorietta and Greenbelt shopping complexes in Makati; the 120-hectare Cebu Business Park; and the future 660-hectare Pasay-Paranaque reclamation projects.

Dave graduated from Ateneo de Manila University and earned his MBA from the University of Virginia’s Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business. He is a Licensed Real Estate Broker.

Erwin M. De Pedro

Co-Founder | Chief Marketing Officer 

Erwin has over 30 years experience in marketing management, with 23 years in real estate and 7 years in direct sales management.

Prior to co-founding Havitas and PropertyMart.ph, a real estate brokerage company, Erwin was Vice President of Marketing for Eton Properties Philippines, Inc., the real estate arm of the Lucio Tan Group of Companies, one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines. He was responsible for all marketing efforts for Eton Properties Philippines as well as subsidiaries, Belton Communities, Inc. and First Homes, Inc., launching a total of 29 projects from the inception of the company.

Before joining Eton, he was Assistant Vice President of Marketing for Suntrust Properties, Inc., a subsidiary of property giant Megaworld Corporation under conglomerate Alliance Global Inc.

Erwin graduated from De La Salle University and is a Licensed Real Estate Broker, a Licensed Real Estate Appraiser, placing Top 8 in the licensure examination, and a Licensed Real Estate Consultant, placing Top 10 in the licensure examination. He is a member of the City of Taguig Real Estate Board, Philippine Association of Real Estate Boards.

Our Founders Have Worked with the Best Philippine Real Estate Developers

Past Project Involvement of Founders

Associations