2-month rental holiday on city properties proposed

The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved on first reading a proposed ordinance granting a 2-month rental holiday on local government facilities and installations, except lot rentals, within the city for the year 2022.

Under the proposed ordinance, the rentals for three year 2022 on all city government facilities and installations within the city shall not be collected by the city in consideration to the plight of the tenants or lessees or concessionaires with existing contracts with the city.

However, the ordinance stipulated that the same does not cover lot rentals as the same applies only to tenants or lessees or concessionaires leasing local government facilities and installations within the city and with existing contracts or arrangements with the city.

Further, the rental holiday shall apply to accrued rentals due but if the rent has already been paid, the holiday is to be applied on 2 succeeding months following the effectivity of the proposed measure.

According to the ordinance, the rental holiday shall be reckoned from the month of the effectiveness of the measure.

The ordinance had been proposed upon the recommendation of city finance officers to extend additional assistance in support of the local government’s businesses and to stimulate the local economy.

Ordinance No. 54, series of 2020, or the Rental Holiday Ordinance to Heal Us One mandated the implementation of a rental holiday on real properties, buildings, stalls, units or spaces used for commercial businesses or industrial purposes within the city which were prevented from continuing operations during the enforcement of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and general Community quarantine.

The said ordinance covers all city, national government, government-owned and controlled corporations and privately-owned real properties.

Earlier, the ordinance was crafted in consideration of the plight of the stall owners or concessionaires who suffered the devastating effects of the pandemic which had been going on for over 2 years now.

Despite the implementation of the said rental holiday, the national and local economy continue to experience a serious slump since the prevalence of the pandemic where the businesses remain to be hurting while others have hardly recovered.

To date, the ordinance noted that many businesses, especially the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), are still struggling to make both ends meet, just so not to totally close shop, thus, the need for the local government to continue finding ways on how to ease the burden of the businesses that had been impacted by the pandemic by providing possible rental holidays that might lessen their struggles while working their way to recovery.

The business sector had been clamoring for more assistance that should be extended by both the national and local government because of the enormous effect of the pandemic to their economic activities that serves as their bread and butter to sustain the living condition of their families living in the different places inside and outside the city. – Dexter A. See