DAVAO CITY (PIA) -- The local government of Davao City is bent on attracting investors and property owners to invest or develop their land into parking spaces and parking buildings.

City Ordinance No. 0417-18 provides investors and property owners with fiscal incentives if they convert their properties into parking spaces or build parking buildings.

These incentives include: Full exemption on the payment of business tax for five years; For parking building, a five-year exemption on Real Property Tax; Exemption from Real Property Tax for two years for lands qualifying under Section 3 of Ordinance 0417-28 that are converted into parking space.

Also, to avail of the parking incentives, the investors/property owners should meet the following conditions:  (1) properties within the territorial jurisdiction of Davao City are duly classified as within the Commercial Zone as provided under the city’s Zoning Ordinance; (2) properties to be developed and/or used exclusively as parking spaces or buildings; and (3) properties with updated payment of Real Property Taxes (a certification from the City Treasurer’s Office will be needed upon application to comply under this condition).

investments as parking buildings and new parking technologies like lifts require huge sums of capital.

“Our recent grantee Bormaheco, they are building a four-storey building; dako kaayo investment ana mga P200 million (it is such a huge investment around P200 million), to help them recover their investments we gave them incentives,” Cambaya said.

He added that they will be giving them full business tax exemption, they would not be paying taxes for parking revenues (five-year exemption).

“But the real property tax on the building, it’s only the basic tax lang. They will still pay for the SEF (Special Education Fund) and the barangay share,” Cambaya said.

Aside from Bormaheco, which is located along J.P. Laurel Avenue home to a burgeoning commercial district, there are two other parking incentive grantees: a parking space in downtown Rizal Street and a planned parking building along San Pedro Street in the city center.

To entice more parking space investors, Cambaya bared that they are planning to amend the parking incentive ordinance, which was passed in 2018 and implemented in 2019.

“This year, we will be amending the ordinance through the office of Councilor Myrna Dalodo Ortixz to make it more enticing. We are eyeing to make the incentives more attractive,” he said. (RGA/PIA Davao)