PH heritage laws lack incentives, says heritage conservation advocate

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s heritage laws lack incentives, according to a heritage conservation advocate on Tuesday.

National Committee for Monuments and Sites head Ivan Henares said this during the Senate Committee on Culture and the Arts deliberations on measures that would boost the country’s heritage and culture.

“I think that what is really missing in our heritage laws are incentives,” he told the panel, chaired by Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda.

Several heritage houses, Henares lamented, are being torn down as heirs cannot pay the estate tax. At times, the house just ends up being sold.

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He cited San Fernando City, Pampanga, as the first local government unit (LGU) that excluded heritage house owners from real estate tax coverage.

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“For example, in the city of San Fernando, Pampanga, in 2004, we were the first local government unit in the Philippines to grant 100-percent real estate tax exemption for heritage house owners. These were copied by other LGUs,” he pointed out.

The Philippines has several heritage houses. Some of which can be found in Intramuros, Ilocos, and Iloilo.

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