BY PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA – Sen. Bam Aquino is pushing to exempt manufacturers or importers of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) from the payment of excise taxes and duties for nine years.
Aquino’s Senate Bill 2151 also seeks to prioritize said vehicles in registration and issuance of plate numbers, franchise application, number-coding scheme; and in the provision of parking spaces for electric, hybrid and other alternative fuel vehicles in establishments.
Aquino, chair of the Senate committee on trade, believes the promotion of alternative fuel vehicles will help create jobs, reduce poverty and mitigate climate change.
“As the world braces itself for stronger impacts of climate change while adapting to swift changes in technology, it is imperative that Filipinos are not left behind in these waves of changes,” said Aquino.
Three years from now, the senator shared, the Department of Energy is expecting some 100,000 electric tricycles on the road.
The Electric Vehicles Association of the Philippines also hopes to mainstream one million electric vehicles by 2020, he further said.
Aquino cited a 2012 Grant Thornton study, saying that vehicle users switch to AFVs due to the “rising oil prices” and the “environmental impact of traditional fuels.”
It also said about 31 percent of Southeast Asian companies use alternative-fuel vehicles./PN
