Iloilo City Council OK’s 2-year, 40% real property tax cut

ILOILO CITY – The Iloilo City Council has approved a 40 percent reduction in real property tax (RPT) for a two-year period.

The Iloilo City Council approved this week the ordinance authored by Councilor Rex Marcus Sarabia that imposes 60 percent RPT payment for the years 2024 and 2025.

THE Iloilo City Hall at night (Tara Yap)

The legislative move came after many in this city’s business sector cried foul during the 2023 holidays over the huge increase in RPT for 2024.

Martin Pison of the Riverside Group of Companies was one of the vocal businessmen that slammed the “1,000 percent increase” in RPT.

Pison said it was “virtually confiscatory and oppressive.” Its impact could close down businesses that rent properties, he added.

After the New Year, Mayor Jerry Treñas announced the RPT would be reduced by 40 percent and that it needed new legislation.

The Iloilo City government is set to implement a 100 percent RPT rate by 2026.

The Treñas administration pointed out that the Iloilo City government has not imposed an increase in RPT for almost 18 years.