Caraga State U pioneers online tax mapping platform
By Renelle Luzon Escuadro
Butuan City, Caraga – Caraga
State University (CSU) has taken the lead in developing a groundbreaking online
tax mapping platform, MapX, aimed at streamlining real property tax collection
for local government units (LGUs) and simplifying tax payments for property
owners.
CSU President Dr. Rolyn C.
Daguil, also the founder and project leader of MapX, highlighted the platform’s
significance during a recent interview with the Philippine Information Agency
(PIA) Caraga.
“This is the pioneer digital tax mapping
system in the country,” he said. “It will help local government units to
efficiently collect real property tax and for property owners to conveniently
pay their tax dues.”
Dr. Daguil explained that
MapX originated as a faculty research project in 2019 and received funding from
the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council For Industry,
Energy, And Emerging Technology Research And Development (DOST- PCIEERD).
Real property tax
Real property tax (RPT) is
a crucial source of revenue for local government units (LGUs) in the
Philippines, levied on real property owners based on the assessed value of
their land. This tax, governed by Sections 197-283 of the Local Government Code
of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160), is imposed on various property types,
including agricultural, commercial, industrial, residential, and utility
properties.
However, Dr. Daguil
highlighted the persistent challenges faced by LGUs in RPT collection.
“The real property tax is
vital for the development of both the LGU and the country,” he emphasizes.
“Yet, the government loses billions annually due to outdated market values and
inefficient collection methods. Many government offices still rely on
traditional, manual processes for tax payments and mapping, failing to leverage
technology to simplify the experience for citizens.
MapX
MapX is an end-to-end
solution for the LGUs and real property owners. It is a tax mapping service
using Web Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to transform property boundaries
digitally using an interactive map. It utilizes geospatial technology to
overlay maps that will help improve assessment and valuation.
MapX can perform all
related tasks in tax mapping from technical description plotting down to
valuation and assessment.
With the use of geospatial
technology and artificial intelligence for updated fair market valuation, MapX
helps remove the government’s deficit on RPT collection.
Also, it provides a
notification and collection system through its mobile application for real
property owners. Since it is fully online, it will provide convenience and
hassle-free transactions to the taxpayers.
Pioneer LGUs
“The city government of
Butuan is the first LGU to use MapX. Additional LGUs have joined and benefitted
from MapX such as Oroqueita City in the province of Misamis Occidental,
municipality of Mainit, Surigao del Norte and the municipality of Mambajao in
the province of Camiguin,” Dr. Daguil added as he shared the pioneer LGUs in
the country that opted the services of MapX for the collection and payment of
the RPT.
Butuan City Mayor Ronnie
Vicente C. Lagnada expressed trust in MapX saying, “ “Data, this is what I’m
saying, and it’s easy to plan when data is on board.”
LGU – Mainit Municipal
Assessor Edpher Leo M. Sindol shared how MapX has revolutionized their
workflow.
“MAPX has become
indispensable, elevating our land and property assessment processes to a new
level of efficiency and transparency. We cannot imagine going back,” Sindol
said.
These LGUs have witnessed
the efficiency of MapX like in the conduct of tax mapping per real property
unit (RPU) that would take 10 RPU per day with the old and manual process. But
with MapX, a total of 100 RPUs are completed within the day, including the
well-run and coherent processing of the general provision of an RPU that could
be achieved within five minutes using MapX, compared to the previous 30 minutes
to two hours of processing time.
Invitation to LGUs
As MapX paves the way from research to commercialization, Dr. Daguil invited the remaining LGUs in the country, especially those gearing up for smart and sustainable communities, to patronize Filipino product innovations like MapX for a hassle-free and convenient property solution. (RLE/PIA-Caraga)