DAVAO CITY – A councilor here expressed concern over a proposed increase in zonal valuation that he feared would have a “negative-domino effect” to the booming economy of the city.
“It might even cause a collapse of the real estate boom of the city of Davao,” Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang of the industrial district of the city said.
He said that some of the new proposed items in the increase of zonal values have been raised 400 to 500 percent.
The proposed revision on the zonal valuation of real properties here increased the value of lands within the downtown area to P60,000 per square meter (sq. m.) while those in the suburbs that are currently priced at P1,500 per sq. m. will be increased to P9,500 per square meter.
“If the valuation is high, this might run counter to the low-cost housing and socialized housing program,” he added.
The council, during one of its sessions, invited the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to shed light on the matter.
BIR regional director Atty. Glen Geraldino said the increase “will not harm the economy of the city since the technical working group based the zonal valuation on the actual selling price of the daily transactions made by the taxpayers of the city.”
Rodrigo Rivamonte, assistant revenue district officer and chairman of the sub-technical committee on the revision of zonal valuation, explained that they are “taking into prime consideration that this zonal valuation would not have a great impact on the city’s progress as well as on the city’s development.”
Read related story: Proposed increase in land zonal values alarms councilors
Dayanghirang said he has sent a letter to the BIR containing the recommendations that he and the stakeholders have come up last Tuesday.
“The proposal is one, whatever increase, it should not go beyond 50 percent of the present zonal valuation,” he said.
“The second is to exempt the raw land from this new zonal valuation because the one who will be hit here are the low-cost housing,” he added.
Dayanghirang said that if the increase in zonal valuation will push through, it will result to the “collapse of the real estate development and will have a domino-effect down to the contractors, down to the carpenters.”
“And maybe the people will be looking into other areas like Cebu and other areas,” he said.
He said they are not against increase, however, it should be in “staggered basis.”
“I’m just [worried] that they might just send it to Manila, their proposed zonal valuation, which may not be attainable as far as Davao City. You know the economy of the city is based on the real estate development,” he said.
He also said that people are coming in the city “because of the real estate development, the peace brought about by peace and order, and the Davao investment promotion tax incentives that we have.”
“We are not against any increase, but it should be feasible, it should be sustainable,” Dayanghirang said. (davaotoday.com)
