Senate President Win Gatchalian has filed a measure seeking additional incentives for electric vehicle (EV) adoption as part of efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil.
Gatchalian said accelerating the transport sector’s shift to EVs would help lessen the impact of global oil price fluctuations on the Philippine economy.
“We need to break our economy’s dependence on foreign oil by accelerating the transport sector’s shift to EVs,” he said, noting that increases in global crude and petroleum prices have resulted in sharp hikes in domestic fuel costs.
Senate Bill No. 2270 seeks to amend Republic Act No. 11697, or the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA), which Gatchalian principally authored. The proposed measure extends the validity of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for EVs from eight years to 12 years and provides zero percent import duty on electric vehicles, related equipment, and infrastructure.
The bill also introduces additional non-fiscal incentives for EV users, including waived or discounted parking fees, toll-free access to dedicated EV lanes on expressways, and a Buy Now, Register Later program.
Under the proposal, the minimum allocation for exclusive EV parking spaces would be increased to 20 percent of total parking slots, with a 5-percent increase every five years.
The measure comes as the Department of Energy continues to address permitting delays that have slowed the rollout of EV charging stations across the country.
