A Responsive Path

In a move that signals a welcome attentiveness to public sentiment, Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu’s administration is pushing to extend the city’s 40% real property tax (RPT) discount through 2028. By certifying the ordinance as urgent, the city government has shown it is listening to the resounding appeals from homeowners and the business sector, who were staggered by the recent 300% tax hike.

Faced with widespread calls for relief, the administration chose not to be rigid, but to be pragmatic. This decision to allow property owners to continue paying only 60% of their assessed RPT for an additional two years is a crucial act of compassion. It acknowledges the economic realities confronting Ilonggo families and entrepreneurs who are diligently paying their dues but struggling under the weight of sharply increased financial burdens. For a government to build trust, it must demonstrate that it does not operate in a vacuum, deaf to the voices of its constituents. This extension is proof of that, a commendable step that eases immediate pressures.

For the city’s vibrant business community, this extension is a necessary reprieve. The initial tax hike, the first in nearly two decades, threatened to destabilize operational costs and deter new investment. This discount provides essential breathing room, allowing businesses to better manage their finances and retain capital that is vital for growth and job creation. In a competitive economic landscape, maintaining a stable cost environment is paramount to keeping Iloilo City attractive to investors. The administration’s move is a clear signal that it understands this and is willing to act to protect the city’s economic vitality.

However, while this relief is welcome, it is a temporary balm on a deeper issue. The extension, while solving a short-term problem, creates a long-term one: a looming tax cliff in 2029. Business thrives on predictability. Long-term planning, expansion, and major investment decisions are calculated years in advance. The knowledge that a massive tax increase is not gone, but merely postponed, creates a cloud of uncertainty that can chill the very investment climate the discount aims to protect. This welcome reprieve does not erase the fundamental instability of the current situation.

The core of the issue lies not with the tax increase itself, but with the two decades of inaction that preceded it. The Local Government Code mandates that real property values be assessed every three years to align with market realities. By failing to do so, Iloilo City allowed a massive discrepancy to grow between assessed value and actual market value. The subsequent 300% hike was not so much an aggressive move as it was a violent correction – a painful, shocking leap to catch up on 20 years of missed adjustments. The public backlash was inevitable, and the subsequent discount, while necessary, is a reactive measure to a crisis that was decades in the making.

This cycle of neglect followed by shock is not a sustainable model for governance. We cannot lurch from one extreme to another. Therefore, the Iloilo City Council has a responsibility that goes beyond simply approving this extension. It must use this critical moment to legislate a smarter, more predictable path forward.

The ultimate goal should be to create a system where massive, one-time hikes are no longer necessary. The council should be tasked with developing a long-term, graduated RPT schedule that implements smaller, regular, and predictable increases every three years, as the law originally intended. Such a system would provide the city with a stable and growing revenue stream to fund essential services and infrastructure. More importantly, it would give homeowners and businesses the clarity and predictability they need to plan for the future without fear of sudden financial shocks.

We commend the mayor for listening and providing immediate relief. Now, we call on the City Council to look beyond this temporary discount and build a more resilient and responsible tax system for the future.

Iloilo City deserves a policy that is not only compassionate in the short term but also stable and intelligent for the decades to come.