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Local autonomy under extreme test: Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III expresses reservation on proposed measures regarding real property tax valuation. During Thursday's public hearing March 2, 2023 of the Committee on Ways and Means, Pimentel said Senate Bill Nos. 314, 693, 897, 1018, 1473 and House Bill No. 6558 entitled Real Property Valuation Reform Act of 2022 will only complicate the Local Government Code of the Philippines. “You have to weaken the local government code by repealing some sections all because the Department of Finance (DOF) wants to have a hand in the process where the taxes collected at the end are for exclusive use of the local government units,” Pimentel pointed out. “So this is a policy question that we need to think carefully. We are really putting to an extreme test or stress test some concepts involving local autonomy,” he added. The bills aim to create the National Valuation Authority (NVA) attached to the DOF. It shall be responsible for the following: development of generally-accepted and internationally-recognized valuation standards; review of local schedule of market values; development and maintenance of database of real property transactions and prices; keeping abreast of global and local trends; and maintenance of a roster of appraisers and assessors in government. (Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB)