THE Private Sector Advisory Council Infrastructure Sector (PSAC-Infra) has urged the government to delay implementation of real property valuation reforms, citing the need to ease cost pressures on owners and support investment and employment in the real estate sector.
The group proposed moving the start of the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act (RPVARA) to 2031 from the current timetable, extending the real property tax amnesty by four years and imposing a phased transition that would limit increases in real property taxes to six percent annually during the first three years.
The recommendations were presented during a special meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Malacañang on Sept. 22, where the group discussed real estate and housing concerns including property taxation, housing affordability and investment policies.
The Palace said Marcos was open to suspending increases in real property taxes following the meeting, with the Department of Finance already working on the matter.
PSAC-Infra said the proposed adjustments were intended to give property owners and local governments more time to transition to the new valuation system while avoiding a sharp increase in property-related costs.
The Department of Finance, however, has previously emphasized that RPVARA would not automatically result in higher real property taxes. Under the law, local government units retain the authority to adjust assessment levels and tax rates depending on their priorities and the needs of their constituents, the Finance department said in July.
The council also proposed an Urban Housing Affordability Program to help address the country’s estimated 3.7-million-unit housing backlog.
Under the proposal, developers would be allowed to offer existing higher-priced, ready-for-occupancy condominium units at substantial discounts in exchange for incentives or credits that could be applied toward their balanced housing requirements.
PSAC-Infra said the measure could help make urban housing more accessible to families while allowing developers to move existing inventory.
“The industry is committed to continue supporting the government’s socialized housing program and we see a great opportunity to partner with DHSUD and other government agencies in providing more affordable housing for our fellow Filipinos,” Ayala Corp. Chief Social Infrastructure Officer Paolo Borromeo said.
The group also recommended accelerating the adjustment of socialized housing price ceilings within 2026 instead of waiting for the scheduled December 2027 review, citing rising construction costs.
It called for further government-private sector consultations on alternative mechanisms that developers could use to comply with balanced housing requirements.
PSAC-Infra said real estate accounted for 5.8 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2026, below its 6.65-percent average contribution in 2018 and 2019 before the pandemic.
Data presented by the council showed that every P1 spent on real estate generates an estimated P3.44 in economic output, with activity also supporting construction, banking, retail, logistics, business process outsourcing and tourism.
Construction alone employs about 4.7 million Filipinos, equivalent to 9.6 percent of the country’s workforce, according to the council.
PSAC lead convenor and Aboitiz Group President and CEO Sabin Aboitiz said closer government-private sector coordination would be important in addressing pressures on real estate and housing while considering their effects on families, jobs and investments.
The meeting also covered the proposed National AI Implementation Task Force, which would focus on AI-related risks and opportunities, particularly for the information technology-business process management workforce.
PSAC-Infra also noted the government’s lifting of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority moratorium on IT centers and IT parks in Metro Manila.
The Palace had earlier said that the Sept. 22 meeting would focus on challenges and opportunities in the real estate industry, including recommendations related to the Balanced Housing Development Program amendments and RPVARA.
