The Rest of the Philippines Is Chilling. Why Is Iloilo City Burning Through Your Cash?

Iloilo City is a hub of progress in the Visayas, a testament to Ilonggo ambition and industry.

Yet, today, our city is an economic anomaly, an inflationary island adrift in a sea of regional stability. While our neighbors in Western Visayas and the nation at large enjoy cooling prices, Ilonggos are being squeezed by a surge in the cost of basic necessities.

This is not a matter of global market forces or national trends; the data suggests this is a crisis of our own making.

According to a recent analysis by Iloilo-based Institute of Contemporary Economics (ICE), the primary driver is clear: the city’s steep increase in the Real Property Tax (RPT). The think tank found that the RPT hike is the “only variable present in Iloilo City separating it from the region.” This tax has unleashed a cascade of consequences, rippling from landlords to businesses, and finally crashing down on the average consumer.

We see its impact not in abstract spreadsheets, but in the daily lives of our people. We hear it in the voice of a carinderia owner who, after her rent and market costs shot up, had to raise the price of a meal by PHP10 and now worries if her regulars can still afford to eat. We feel it in the anxiety of a call center agent whose PHP500 rent increase obliterates an entire week’s grocery budget. For her, the tax feels like a “punishment.” It is a punishment being felt across the city, forcing families to choose between paying taxes and buying food.

To be fair, the city government’s position, articulated by Majority Floor Leader Rex Marcus Sarabia, is rooted in a legitimate concern for fiscal responsibility. The projected ₱1.056 billion in RPT collections for 2025 is not an insignificant sum. It is the lifeblood for essential services, infrastructure projects, and the salaries of public servants. A government cannot function without revenue, and Councilor Sarabia is correct to warn against any proposal that would recklessly “fuck up our budget.” An 80% RPT reduction, as proposed by Councilor Sheen Marie Mabilog, without a clear plan to offset the revenue loss, would indeed be a daunting challenge.

However, fiscal prudence cannot be a shield against public suffering. The current 40% tax reprieve, while well-intentioned, is clearly not enough. The data confirms it. The stories of our people confirm it. The political stalemate in the City Council, where a proposal for greater relief is dismissed on first reading without the benefit of a full committee debate, serves no one. Labeling data-backed pleas as “emotional allegations” while citizens struggle is a failure of representation. The welfare of the people is not an emotional argument; it is the fundamental purpose of governance.

We are past the point of assigning blame. We are at a moment that demands solutions. The path forward requires moving beyond the rigid “all or nothing” positions of an 80% cut versus the status quo.

First, the City Council must negotiate a data-driven compromise. If 40% is too little and 80% is too much, then a more significant, temporary reprieve must be found. Let the city’s budget office model the impact of a 60% or 65% discount for one year. This would provide immediate, meaningful relief to households while giving the city time to adjust.

Second, the administration must embrace radical transparency. Show the people precisely where their ₱1.056 billion in property taxes is going. Publish a detailed, citizen-friendly budget that links RPT revenue directly to specific programs—road repairs, health centers, educational funds. If the public can see the tangible benefits of their taxes, the burden becomes more understandable. This builds trust, which is now in short supply.

Finally, we must plan for a more sustainable future. The city must heed the comparison to other urban centers like Makati and Pasig and commission an independent study on diversifying its revenue streams. An over-reliance on property taxes makes the city vulnerable and places an inequitable burden on a fraction of the population.

The true measure of Iloilo’s progress is not found in its rising buildings but in the economic well-being of the Ilonggos who live and work in their shadows. It is time for our leaders to rise above the political fray and work together – not to win a debate, but to lift a burden that is breaking the backs of our people.