MODERNIZE RPT PAYMENTS

Dear LGUs,

Paying real property taxes shouldn’t feel like an obstacle course—but right now it does. Here’s why:

Taxpayers must personally visit city hall just to get a billing. For those with properties outside Metro Manila, that means entire days lost to travel.

Parking is a nightmare, forcing taxpayers to bring a driver just so they can attempt the errand.

Cash or Manager’s Check only—except for Taguig and Pasig—means people are literally withdrawing stacks of money just to pay taxes.

For Filipinos abroad and foreign property owners, this becomes nearly impossible. One of my clients even received a notice warning of possible seizure—yet he had no way of settling the taxes because he had no representative in the country. I ended up stepping in and settling everything on his behalf. And to be clear—we had only met recently. He practically had no one else to turn to.

With RPVARA around the corner and expected increases in RPT assessments, we urgently need easier, safer, digital ways to pay. Banks are tightening cash withdrawals; carrying that much cash is unsafe; and the entire system is stuck in the past.

Sincerely,

A citizen asking for a modern RPT system