MANILA, Philippines: The giving of tax breaks to e-motorcycles gained additional backing from different stakeholders and government agencies as the mandatory review of Executive Order No. 12 which lowered taxes for electric vehicles commenced.

The Tariff Commission officially started public hearings to review EO 12 on March 13. The commission asked the stakeholders to submit their updated position papers by Monday, March 18, 2024.

The Department of Trade and Industry's Bureau of Investment (DTI-BOI), the Department of Energy (DoE), Autohub Group, and the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP), among others, expressed support to the inclusion of e-motorcycles in the list of e-vehicles to be given tax breaks.

The DoE's Energy Utilization Management Bureau Specialist Andre Reyes said that giving tax breaks to e-motorcycles will help speed up EV adoption in the country.

"This proposed coverage expansion will send a clear price signal for consumers to switch to EVs, which are more efficient and cheaper to run per kilometer, and assist in energy self-sufficiency," Reyes said during the public hearing.

Under EO 12, different types of EVs got tax breaks but e-motorcycles are still subject to a 30 percent tariff rate.

The exclusion of e-motorcycles drew criticism from different stakeholders who lamented the "unfair" treatment. The Statista Research Department said that majority of motorists own e-motorcycles, as there are about eight million registered units.

The EVAP, on the other hand, wants to give tax breaks to e-motorcycles for a limited time to help create an industry for their manufacturing in the country.

"The granting of tariff exemption should be limited only to one year with a commitment to at least do a CKD (completely knocked down) of the same model or another model on the second year," EVAP said in its position paper.

Albay 2nd District Representative Joey Salceda earlier filed House Bill 9573 to apply modifications to EO 12, as the lawmaker noted that 60 percent of the nation's electric vehicles are classified as two-wheeled, which makes it unfair for them to be excluded from tax breaks.

EO 12 was enacted to complement the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act to create an industry for EVs and help reduce carbon emissions, in compliance with the Philippines' commitment to the Paris Agreement. It modifies the tariff rates for EVs to help mainstream their use among Filipinos.

The DTI also plans to phase out internal engine combustion cars as part of a comprehensive plan to transition the nation to what environmentalists refer to as "green traffic," or a decarbonized road network. The country wants to be entirely electric by 2040.