THE shift from gas-fueled transportation to electric vehicles is needed now more than ever as the country transitions towards a green transport system, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said recently.
“We want a green transport system to be in place sooner, and we are working on a roadmap to transition public transport system to EVs,” Bautista said in a business club forum.
Bautista has also said that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is assessing if public transports can be required to shift to electric vehicles, noting the latter’s contribution to both government and non-government efforts to decarbonize the country’s road network and improve air quality.
“We are also asking the transport operators that instead of running on Euro 5 and Euro 6 engines which are of less air hazard emissions, they can go on full electric since such would be our way to a total green transport system,” Bautista said.
Reports have said that the DOTr is also considering the grant of incentives, like tax breaks and ‘soft loans’ to transport operators to help them jumpstart their shift to EVs.
Earlier this year, the government issued Executive Order No. 12 series of 2023 aiming to lower the tariff rates for EVs and its components from 5 to 30 percent all the way down to amended 0 percent.
Several types of EVs received the said tax breaks except for e-motorcycles that are still subject to 30 percent import duty despite being the most used transportation mode in the country.
Based on Statista Research Department, almost 7.81 million registered motorcycles and tricycles were tallied in 2022.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has initially said the implementation of EO12 will nourish the local industry of EVs and will help persuade Filipinos to use a cleaner mode of transportation.
Various stakeholders have also expressed their appeal to make the EO more inclusive by including e-motorcycles on the temporary suspension of import tariff rates.
The import tariff break for e-motorcycles is being pushed by the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) led by its president Edmund Araga, who has said that opportunities must be given to local manufacturers.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has also been pushing for the use of EVs in the country by strictly implementing the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA) amidst the increasing prices of gas.
