Group seeks approval of alternative fuel vehicles bill

An organization of electric vehicle industry players in the country on Tuesday urged both houses of Congress to push for the enactment of a unified version of their respective Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV) bills into law.

In a statement, the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines, led by its president Rommel Juan, said the electric vehicle industry needed this measure “to encourage local and foreign investors to invest in it and make the sector competitive with the rest of the region.”

“We are counting on this law to provide both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives that would help our assemblers, parts makers, suppliers and importers.  We hope to be able to bring down our production costs and consequently, the selling prices of electric vehicles,” Juan explained.

“This is also expected to lure foreign investors into investing in the local EV industry, especially in the light of the forthcoming bidding for the $500-million Electric Tricycle Program [of the Department of Energy and Asian Development Bank]. We can only hope that our legislators will act fast enough to give our infant EV industry a much-needed shot in the arm,” Juan said.

On Jan. 29, the Senate approved its version of the AFV bill, Senate Bill No. 2856, authored by Sen. Ralph Recto. The lower house approved on March 21, 2012 its own version, House Bill 5460, which was sponsored by Rep. Jose Zubiri III.

While the Senate has already nominated its representatives to the bicameral committee, the lower house has yet to appoint its representatives, the EVAP said.