DAVAO CITY – Local officials here are questioning the proposed increase in zonal valuation of lands in the city.
During the regular session of the City Council on Tuesday, Councilor Danilo Dayanhirang said that “investors might be affected” with increased rates of zonal values.
He also said that they were not invited during the public hearing conducted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue last May 20.
“We are alarmed that they are conducting the public hearing without even (inviting) and consulting the council as policy makers,” Dayanghirang.
Meanwhile, Councilor Diosdado Mahipus said that he wanted to know up to what extent the zonal valuation will be adjusted.
“Davao City is now enjoying an economy because of real property investments and relatively low cost of land. We might suffer as an immediate consequence of such an adjustment,” Mahipus said.
He said that the increase will discourage investors from setting up operations here.
“Is there a way by which we can stop this adjustment which will destroy the momentum or stop the momentum of the city’s growth?” Mahipus said.
The last proposal to update zonal valuation was in 1998 which was approved in 2002.
The City Council invited the BIR to shed light about the proposed revised zonal valuation of real properties.
BIR regional director Atty. Glen Geraldino said that “this year we’d really try to update our zonal valuation because under the law, we are mandated to update every three years.”
“In grade one to grade six, we are still in grade two. Mahaba itong process na ito (It is a long process),” he said.
He also said that the increase will “not harm the economy of the city since the technical working group is basing the zonal valuation on the actual selling price of the daily transactions made by the taxpayers of the city.”
Rodrigo Rivamonte, Assistant RDO and chairman of the sub-technical committee on the revision of zonal valuation explained how they came up with the revised zonal valuation.
“When we were starting the revision of the zonal values, our prime consideration is that we should be able to put values in all of the properties, in all the classifications of lots located within the areas of Davao City,” Rivamonte said.
These classifications include residential, agricultural, industrial, commercial as well as institutional properties.
“Our primary consideration then was not only to collect taxes, but to establish a correct value for all of the properties located within the city,” he said.
He also said 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.”
Rivamonte said that they wanted to establish a fair and just compensation for lots and areas which have been expropriated by the local government.
“We were able to establish after almost a year of deliberation from the technical committee up to the time we conducted a public hearing last May (20),” he said.
He also said that they will be submitting the results of the public hearing to the technical committee for review.(davaotoday.com)
