BLGF Invites Prof. Agosto in RPVRA IRR Workshop

The Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF), a key agency responsible for overseeing local government revenue collection and fiscal policies, recently invited Gus Agosto, the President of the Society of Litigation Valuation Experts (SOLVE), to participate in a significant event aimed at shaping the future of property valuation in the Philippines. This event was the Workshop for the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Real Property Valuation and Reassessment Act (RPVRA), held from August 20 to 23, 2024 at Dusit Thani in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

The workshop’s primary objective was to finalize the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the RPVRA, a groundbreaking piece of legislation aimed at reforming real estate property valuation practices across the country. The RPVRA’s provisions are geared toward:

• Standardizing real property valuation across Local Government Units (LGUs),
• Strengthening the efficiency of property tax collection,
• Enhancing transparency in government-led real estate transactions,
• Establishing a National Valuation Database.

Given the far-reaching implications of the RPVRA, this workshop was crucial for ensuring that the IRR accurately reflected the spirit of the law while considering the practical realities of its implementation.

Prof. Gus Agosto, representing Group 1 in the discussions, played a central role in examining and debating key provisions of the RPVRA, particularly those affecting litigation-related valuation issues. His expertise as the President of SOLVE, an organization specializing in property valuation in legal disputes, added valuable insights into the drafting process. Group 1 likely focused on technical aspects of valuation practices, dispute resolution, and how to ensure the law’s provisions are consistently applied across regions.

His participation underscored the importance of collaboration between government bodies, private sector experts, and organizations such as SOLVE, as they worked to ensure that the IRR would be both legally sound and implementable at the local level.

The workshop was attended by a diverse group of stakeholders from the Visayas and Mindanao regions, representing both the public and private sectors:

• Government Agencies:

  • Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF): Ensures local government revenue collection aligns with new valuation standards.

  • Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR): Guides interactions of RPVRA with tax administration.

  • Philippine Tax Academy: Supports training for assessors and tax officers.

  • Local Government Assessors: Implement new valuation standards at local levels.

  • Phividec Industrial Authority: Focuses on how the new valuation law affects industrial property valuations.

    
    

    Private Sector:

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    Real estate practitioners, property developers, and valuation experts shared insights on the law’s impact on real estate and investments.

During the workshop, various provisions of the RPVRA were debated, including:

1. Valuation Standards:
   • Ensuring uniformity in real property valuation across all LGUs, addressing long-standing issues with inconsistent property assessments in different regions.
2. Creation of the National Valuation Database:
   • Discussing the technical requirements, privacy concerns, and the operational framework of the database, which would be central to transparent and reliable valuation practices.
3. Periodic Revaluation Requirements:
   • The IRR’s requirement for LGUs to conduct regular updates to property valuations would address the issue of outdated valuations that impact fair taxation and public transactions.
4. Appraisers’ and Assessors’ Qualifications:
   • Emphasis was placed on professionalizing the appraisal practice through standardized training and certification programs, with contributions from the Philippine Tax Academy.
5. Litigation-Related Provisions: Mr. Agosto’s involvement focused on mechanisms for resolving valuation disputes, particularly in cases of eminent domain, where the government acquires private property for public use, and determining just compensation becomes critical.

The workshop was pivotal for finalizing the IRR, which would serve as the guiding document for the implementation of the RPVRA across the country. This collaborative effort between the government and the private sector aims to ensure that real estate valuation practices in the Philippines align with international standards, promote transparency, and support the fair and equitable taxation of real properties.

The participation of key government bodies such as the BIR and the BLGF, alongside valuation experts like Gus Agosto, ensures that the IRR addresses both the technical and practical aspects of real estate property valuation, enhancing the law’s chances of being effectively implemented across the country’s LGUs.