Senator Win Gatchalian said the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act (RPVARA), which establishes uniform valuation standards for real estate, is expected to expedite the development of infrastructure projects necessary to underpin economic growth.

“Because RPVARA facilitates a standard valuation of real estate property, it would now be much easier to resolve right-of-way issues which are usually the main cause of delay in the progress of infrastructure projects,” said Gatchalian, noting that major infrastructure projects usually require land use, land acquisition for the project site, or right-of-way acquisition. Gatchalian is the main author and sponsor of Republic Act 12001, or RPVARA which was enacted in June last year. 

The senator explained that RPVARA mandates the use of the schedule of market values (SMV) as the only basis for determining the valuation of the government’s real properties, which essentially simplified the process of resolving right-of-way concerns. Prior to the enactment of RPVARA, the valuation of real properties was made on the basis of either the current market values from recent sales of property in the vicinity, the schedule of zonal values as determined by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, or the SMV. 

Further, RPVARA centralized the government’s property valuation system under the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF), providing for the development of property valuation standards based on international valuation standards.   

“Wala nang dahilan pa para maantala ang mga pangunahing proyekto sa imprastraktura na kailangan para mapalago ang ekonomiya at mapabuti ang kalidad ng buhay ng ating mga kababayan,” he added.