A BACOLOD City Councilor said that he will study and review the proposed increase of real property taxes (RPT) endorsed by the City Assessor’s Office to the City Council.
Councilor Caesar Distrito, chairperson of the committee of appropriation and finance, said the proposed RPT increase has already been published in the local daily newspapers and was reviewed by the regional director of the Department of Finance.
“One good thing about this proposal is that the requirement of publication was complied unlike the previous proposal, which was declared null and void by the Department of Justice since it was not published nor posted in at least two public places in the city,” he said.
The section 219 of the Local Government Code states that the city should update the schedule of market value of the RPT every three years.
“Based on its proposal, it seems that the RPT rates have been adjusted and made reasonable compared to the previous proposal that was considered excessive and detrimental to the residents of Bacolod as the increase reached as high as 1,500 percent,” Distrito said.
He added that before it will be submitted and approved for first reading, the proposal will be reviewed thoroughly.
City Assessor Maphilindo Polvora had earlier said that he also presented the proposed rates increase to various stakeholders, including the Chamber of Real Estate Builders Associations (Creba) and Subdivision and Housing Developers Association-Negros Occidental Chapter (SHDA).
Creba and SHDA were among those who filed complaints against the previous administration to stop the implementation of the new RPT rates endorsed by former mayor Monico Puentevella.
“We will make sure that the rate should be acceptable to both parties, the city and the taxpayers, and we are open to suggestions. We will ensure that the revised and adjusted RPT rates increase is reasonable and much lower than the previous one that was declared null and void by the Department of Justice,” Distrito said.
“We will ensure that this will be scrutinized properly, we will consult all stakeholders like the SHDA and Creba, barangay captains, and other business groups in the city to get their input and suggestions,” he said.
The councilor added that he will hold a public hearing anytime this month with all the sectors concerned to give them more opportunity to contribute in the drafting of the ordinance.