MANILA—Senator Loren Legarda has introduced a measure seeking to strengthen the protection of the country’s cultural heritage by providing tax incentives and financial support to private owners of heritage structures and ancestral homes.

Senate Bill No. 1852, titled “Strengthening the Conservation and Protection of Philippine Cultural Heritage Through Heritage Incentives,” proposes amendments to the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 to extend tax relief and credit benefits to privately owned cultural properties. The proposal aims to address the high costs associated with conservation, restoration, and maintenance, which have contributed to the deterioration and loss of historic buildings.

Legarda underscored that heritage sites should be regarded not only as cultural symbols but also as economic assets that require sustained policy support.

“The preservation of our nation’s built heritage is not merely a matter of aesthetics or nostalgia; it is a duty to safeguard the tangible expressions of our collective memory, identity, and history,” Legarda stressed.

The bill would create a Cultural Property Incentive Program covering officially declared heritage buildings and ancestral houses. It outlines fiscal incentives to make conservation more financially viable for property owners and stewards, including grants and improved access to financing and loan facilities through government financial institutions.

Under the proposal, tax credits would be granted for ownership transfers and restoration work involving Grade I and Grade II cultural properties. Grade I covers World Heritage Sites, National Cultural Treasures, National Historical Landmarks, National Historical Shrines, and National Historical Monuments. Grade II includes Declared Important Cultural Properties, certain natural properties of cultural significance within protected areas under the ENIPAS Act, declared archaeological sites, Heritage Houses, Historic Sites, Heritage Trees, Heritage Zones, Other Marked Structures, and all Gabaldon School Buildings.

The measure also provides real property tax exemptions for Grade I and II structures, while allowing local government units to extend similar exemptions to Grade III properties. Grade III includes other cultural and natural properties of cultural significance listed in the Philippine Registry of Heritage, including those declared by local governments.

Additional incentives proposed in the bill include exemptions from income tax, import duties, and value-added tax for qualified conservation activities.

“Our built heritage is often lost not to neglect, but to unaffordable upkeep. This bill eases the tax and cost burden on owners who meet conservation standards, making restoration feasible. The bill recognizes that heritage protection cannot rest solely on regulation and enforcement. It must be supported by positive incentives that mobilize both public and private stakeholders toward a common goal: the preservation of our built heritage for future generations,” Legarda concluded.

Legarda chairs the Senate Committee on Culture and the Arts and previously sponsored the National Cultural Heritage Act and the Cultural Mapping Law, or Republic Act No. 11961.