The Department of Finance is preparing to roll out a program aimed at providing incentives for the local manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs).
According to Finance Secretary Frederick Go, the EV Incentive Strategy (EVIS) has already been presented to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., but the Board of Investments (BOI) is still working with other agencies in the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) on the details of the program.
Apart from the DOF and the Department of Trade and Industry, the FIRB is composed of the Department of Budget and Management; Department of Economy, Planning, and Development; and the Office of the President.
Based on consultations conducted by the DTI, the government is looking to provide a P60-billion fiscal incentive package for the proposed EVIS, which will be open to manufacturers of four-wheeled EVs such as battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Under the proposed EVIS, there will be four participants, each receiving P15 billion worth of fiscal support in exchange for their investments in EV manufacturing.
Unlike the government’s previous vehicle manufacturing incentive program, the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program, the proposed EVIS does not set a production volume target for participants. It also has a higher fiscal package compared to the P27 billion allotted under the CARS program.
Trade Secretary Cristina Roque earlier said that the government wants to fast track the release of the EO on EVIS as the tensions in the Middle East have pushed up fuel prices and driven demand for EVs.
The EO for the EVIS is expected to be released before the State of the Nation Address of the President, which will be in July.
Incentivizing the local manufacture of EVs is a good step forward in a world that is shifting towards electric vehicles and renewable technologies, especially as we grapple with a global fuel crisis. Hopefully the fiscal incentives are enough to jump start a new Filipino industry, and maybe we can even produce quality products that can compete in the global market. However, perhaps it is also time to review our government’s priorities, especially when it comes to the automotive industry that simply adds vehicles to our roads instead of seriously exploring sustainable transportation and mobility solutions that may not involve even more private vehicles, whether those may be powered by batteries or fossil fuels.
If the government can afford to incentivize local automobile production, it should only be fair that we should also make walkable cities and better public transportation systems easier and more affordable to design, build, operate, and maintain, as more Filipinos might end up benefiting from such a shift in priorities.*
