Gatchalian pushes more ev incentives to cut ph dependence on imported oil

SENATE President Win Gatchalian has filed a bill seeking to accelerate the country’s transition to electric vehicles (EVs) through additional incentives, aimed at reducing dependence on oil imports.

“We need to break our economy’s dependence on foreign oil by accelerating the transport sector’s shift to EVs,” Gatchalian said, noting that spikes in global crude and refined petroleum prices have led to some of the steepest increases in domestic fuel prices.

Senate Bill 2270 seeks to amend Republic Act 11697 or the EV Industry Development Act (Evida), mainly authored by Gatchalian. The bill extends the validity of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives from eight to 12 years and imposes a zero percent import duty on electric vehicles, as well as related equipment and infrastructure.

The measure introduces additional non-fiscal incentives for EV users, including waived or discounted parking fees, toll-free access to dedicated EV expressway lanes, and a “Buy Now, Register Later” program.

The bill also increases the minimum allocation of exclusive EV parking slots to 20 percent of total parking spaces, with a 5 percent increase every five years.

The Department of Energy earlier said that permitting delays are slowing the rollout of EV charging stations in the Philippines.