Iloilo City exec mulls higher tax incentives for heritage conservation  

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas | PHOTO: Official facebook page of Jerry Treñas

ILOILO CITY — City Mayor Jerry Treñas is pushing to increase the existing real property tax (RPT) incentives for owners of houses and buildings considered heritage structures.

The proposal would increase the 50 percent RPT incentive under City Regulation Ordinance 2013-329 or the Tourism Code of 2013 on houses and buildings that are already certified or are to be certified by the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage Conservation Council.

“The city government or national government cannot spend on heritage houses and buildings, considering that they are private properties, and if we cannot give them incentives, it will be hard for them to spend on [the preservation of these houses and buildings,” Treñas said in a phone interview.

The incentive would help not only property owners in the downtown area but also those outside of it.

The mayor has yet to announce the specific figures for the increase in tax incentives for heritage structures.

Treñas earlier proposed to support the Divinagracia and Celso Ledesma buildings, which were affected by night fires on March 15.

These two privately owned buildings are within the city’s Cultural Heritage Tourism Zone.

Treñas cited the San Jose Parish Placer, the Iloilo Masonic Temple on the sides of Plaza Libertad, and the city’s main Landbank of the Philippines branch on Solis Street, which is undergoing renovation.

“I want it sufficient enough for the owners of buildings in Calle Real [J.M. Basa Street] to restore, renovate, [and] repaint their buildings,” he said.

The mayor, however, said he would have to consult with the city government’s finance committee, the Office of the Building Official, the City Legal Office, and the city council before drafting the proposal to increase the tax incentives for heritage structures.