MANILA – 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.
“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 It is to fix the long-standing gap between property valuations that are outdated and their actual current market values.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 said in his speech at the National Executive Forum on the full implementation of the RPVARA held at SMX Aura in Taguig City on Thursday.
Signed into law by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in 2024, RPVARA streamlines and enhances the real property valuation and assessment system through a uniform real property appraisal that is compliant 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 These include multiple and inconsistent valuations, outdated valuations, foregone revenues, and lack of central oversight and integrated database.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 said.
The legal and regulatory framework is fully in place with full implementation expected to begin by 2028.
Go assured that RPVARA does not mean an increase in real property tax (RPT).
“RPVARA does not mean an increase in RPT. There is an assumption that once market values are updated, that RPT will go up. This is not so,” he said.
Go said RPT is determined by three separate components which include 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.
