DESPITE the impending raise in property tax, Quezon City remains an ideal residential area in Metro Manila, in terms of cost of living and the general environment, a city official said.
Early last year, the Commission on Audit, the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) informed the local government that the adjustment is long overdue.
For Quezon City Administrator Aldrin Cuña, the adjustment in real-property tax was long overdue. He said some Quezon City residents who own prime lots along Edsa have land assessed values of only P5,000 per square meter, while their counterparts in Caloocan and Makati cities have their properties assessed from P55,000 up to P80,000 per sq m.
Cuña said unbelievable as it may seem, this is simply a result of fair-market values on properties not being adjusted in the city for the last 21 years.
The city administrator said QC offers a wide range of residential choices—from the very affordable socialized-housing communities to comfortable middle-income residential enclaves, to posh, upscale subdivisions, “depending on the capacity of the individual households or the individual’s way of life”.
He cited the case of Timog area, which has become highly commercialized but is replete with historical background. The area has a mix of sprawling residential units and condominiums living in close proximity to long rows of restaurants and entertainment centers. It is also home to physical fitness centers, spas and innovative therapeutic facilities.
Residential areas in the South and West Triangles of Timog Avenue arose when housing pressures from a growing population resulted in the reduction of the area originally assigned to the Quezon Memorial Park, assigned to housing by the Philippine Housing and Homesite Corp. under President Elpidio Quirino in 1951.
Cuña said because of the city’s program on climate-change resiliency, the development strategy is “toward the development of highly pedestrianized environments” to reduce the city’s overall carbon footprint.
This, the city official said, is the principle behind the trend in the city toward residential areas integrated with the basics and desirable amenities of daily living and with office or work environments.
He cited the case of Eastwood, which is a “city within a city”, that supports a digital lifestyle. A resident can conveniently do banking, order food from restaurants, order products from other stores in this community, connect with others within and outside the cyber neighborhood, and transact business without having to leave the confines of his residential unit.
Another is the Araneta Center, which is a highly transit-oriented mixed-use community, with high-rise residential areas now more interspersed in densely commercial areas, while Eton Centris is an emerging mixed-use complex in the corner of Edsa and Quezon Avenue. The complex is dotted with leisure and retail establishments, and a mini playground with a carousel.
Navigating Katipunan Avenue to the Ortigas areas will lead to a community of campuses, offices of non-governmental organizations, restaurants, places of worship and various commercial establishments. Teacher’s Village and UP Village are so-called because they are subdivisions close to schools and universities.
The commercial establishment-rimmed Katipunan Avenue also provides links to the gated subdivisions of the well-to-do, where land parcels provide for more spacious homes and higher levels of privacy, such as La Vista, White Plains, Green Meadowst and Corinthian Gardens.
And last, the city is also home to Barangay Payatas, once the dumping ground for Quezon City’s 3,000 tons of daily waste, but is now transforming into a residential area for those residents who cannot afford more expensive areas in the city. The dump site has been closed, and the local government is turning the area into a park.
Image credits: Molotok007 | Dreamstime
1 comment
You forget to mention Fairview/ Greater Lagro in Novaliches. Which is equally vibrant and emerging as a CBD. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3d756ff1c07ba8eabd58551701df932e4297a5c4cdca7cbae717be80af86172a.jpg