ARGUING for its health benefits to Filipinos in the long-term use, the Pollution Control Association of the Philippines (PCAP) has stressed the need to speed up the grant of incentives needed to mainstream electric vehicles or EVs.
In an interview, PCAP vice president for external affairs Jeremiah Dwight Sebastian said Filipinos can benefit from EVs by having “less air pollution, less sick people, and less need to go to the hospital” because of the electric vehicle’s zero tailpipe emissions which reduce carbon emissions and carbon footprints as compared to gasoline-powered cars.
“Electric vehicles are critical technology to push forward the ‘decarbonization’ effort since this will allow us to have a more flexible option in its energy source… this can also minimize what I believe [is] a major issue of pollution in highly urbanized [communities],” Sebastian said.
The Statista Research Department has reported that the Philippines’ transport sector in 2021 emitted 31.54 million tons of carbon dioxide.
According to the American Lung Association, transitioning to EVs will help save 110,000 lives, prevent 2.7 million childhood asthma attacks, and over $1.7 trillion in global climate benefits gained in the United States alone.
The shift to EVs is one of the solutions that the government is implementing to decarbonize the Philippines and help weaken the effects of climate change.
Earlier this year, the Philippine government passed Executive Order No. 12 series of 2023 aiming to mainstream the usage of EVs in the country along with the target of slashing the rate of carbon emissions caused by fueled-run vehicles.
Different types of EVs received tax breaks except for the e-motorcycles which are still subject to 30% import duty, drawing an uproar from stakeholders in the EV industry which have been clamoring for a revision of the order.
“Only more affluent Filipinos – indeed a limited segment of the population – can afford to buy four-wheel vehicles and hence enjoy these incentives… This is why the government must make these tax incentives more inclusive,” Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship secretary general Felix Jose Vitangcol has said.
Motorcycles are used by majority of the motorists in the country, recording more than 7.81 million registered motorcycles in 2022, based on the study by Statista Research Department.
The Department of Energy (DOE) aims to roll out 2,454, 200 EVs, comprising of cars, tricycles, motorcycles, and buses, and 65,000 charging stations nationwide by 2028.
With the revision of the EO12 to include e-motorcycles, it is expected to accelerate the country’s full shift to electric vehicles.
