The Department of Energy is calling for the amendments to Executive Order No. 12 to include plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the list of vehicles that can enjoy tariff-free privileges.
Patrick Aquino, director of the DOE’s Energy Utilization Management Bureau, said the proposal aims to harmonize the implementation of the EO which is time bound, “unless they will liberalize it.”
“We’re confident that the Tariff Commission will follow the same trajectory and listen to our recommendation, because it’s not only the DOE who’s pushing for it. We also have the DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] and NEDA [National Economic Development Authority] that have also thrown their support,” he said.
Aquino said while EO 12 is a time-bound measure meant to increase the utilization of EVs in the Philippines by temporarily suspending import tariffs on EVs, the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act is a watered-down measure that has limited support to users and consumers.
The only benefit consumers get from the law is exemption from the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program and 30-percent payment of motor vehicle user’s registration, he said.
Meanwhile, Aquino said the TC would discuss the merits of the proposal to include various EV models in the amendment sought by stakeholders.
EO 12 reduced the tariff rate for certain types of EVs to 0 percent duty from a range of 5 percent to 30 percent. EVs such as kick scooters, pocket motorcycles and self-balancing cycles were included in the tax breaks for a period of five years. Two-wheeled electric motorcycles are still subject to 30-percent import duty.
Aquino said that after the public consultation, the amendments to the EO would likely be inserted once Congress is in recess. “That’s the only time the President can exercise his authority, and that means the window during the barangay election or during the Christmas break,” he said.
The EO, however, does not include hybrid EVs, although its time-bound implementation supports the creation of an ecosystem where less fuel is used for transportation and a system that builds on cleaner and greener transportation options.
The Office of the President issued EO 12 in January 2023 which became effective in June 2023. The TC is bound to review the EO a year after its full implementation.