Taguig city: The Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act (RPVARA) will empower local government units (LGUs) with a standardized, transparent, and credible valuation system, Finance Secretary Frederick Go said.

According to Philippines News Agency, "RPVARA exists for one reason. It is to fix the long-standing gap between property valuations that are outdated and their actual current market values. This is an opportunity for us to build an equitable, data-driven, and investor-ready schedule of market values," Go stated in his speech at the National Executive Forum on the full implementation of the RPVARA held at SMX Aura in Taguig City.

Signed into law by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in 2024, the RPVARA aims to streamline and enhance the real property valuation and assessment system through a uniform appraisal method that complies with international standards. "RPVARA resolves decades-old issues in real property valuation. These include multiple and inconsistent valuations, outdated valuations, foregone revenues, and lack of central oversight and integrated database. The reform modernizes LGU valuation, making it more frequent, efficient, transparent, and market-based," Go noted.

The legal and regulatory framework for the RPVARA is fully established, with full implementation anticipated by 2028. Go clarified that RPVARA does not imply an increase in real property tax (RPT). "There is an assumption that once market values are updated, that RPT will go up. This is not so," Go mentioned, emphasizing that RPT is determined by three separate components: market value, assessment level, and tax rate. "RPVARA updates only one of these three, that is the schedule of market values to reflect actual market values today. The cities, provinces, and municipalities all work with the Bureau of Internal Revenue to determine the schedule of market values," he added.