An acceleration in the infrastructure buildup program known as the “Build, Build, Build” is expected following the approval of House Bill 4664 at the House of the Representatives, the Department of Finance (DoF) said on Tuesday.

Also known as Package 3 of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), the tax reform measure suggests the adoption of internationally accepted real property valuation standards, the use of single valuation for land transactions taxation, the use of a uniform schedule of market values (SMV) for Right-of-Way (RoW) acquisition and the enhanced valuation arm of the DoF-attached Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF).

“Lawmakers pointed out that this measure will also help speed up the implementation of President Duterte’s centerpiece initiative ‘Build, Build, Build’ as the use of new SMV on real property will address RoW issues,” the DoF said.

House Committee chairman on government reorganization and Batangas Rep. Mario Vittorio Mariño stressed the need for such a measure and thus its swift passage in congress.

“I became a city councilor twice and I participated in updating our market value schedules as far as our local government is concerned. Usually, most local government units (LGU) are afraid to delve into tax assessment, tax rate as well as market value as they are afraid of the political backlash that may ensue,” Mariño said partly speaking in Filipino.

According to him, the phenomenon has stunted LGU revenue flow and collection. Also, the lawmaker clarified the approved measure should not take away the power of local councils to update their market value and assessment levels to cushion the impact of increased property values.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrellita Suansing noted the urgency of passing the bill meant to help government harness the full potential of real property tax revenues.

“A World Bank study indicated that 50 percent to 70 percent of the national wealth is contained in land alone. Real property, therefore, has the largest potential contribution to national income for funding economic and social development,” Suansing said.