Exemptions from a ban on new bus franchises, along with tax breaks and government loans, were offered to manufacturers and operators of electric vehicles yesterday to encourage the use of the emission-free but pricey transports.
“We recognize there is gap in both regulations and infrastructure that we have to address to encourage electric vehicles to ply our streets,” Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Aristotle B. Batuhan said at the last day of the Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit.
To address this, the department is looking at granting 20 Metro Manila electric bus franchises despite the standing moratorium against new issuances, he said.
“Later in December, we’ll come out with that order, maybe in time for the transportation summit on Dec. 3,” Mr. Batuhan said.
The special franchises will be auctioned off to interested operators and may allow these electric buses to ply commuter-packed EDSA, Mr. Batuhan later told reporters at the sidelines of the event.
The perk is needed to entice bus operators to shell out an extra P2-3 million to purchase electric vehicles instead of another gas-guzzling model, he added.
The Board of Investments (BoI), for its part, promised to continue offering income tax holidays and other incentives to electric vehicle assemblers and support industries next year.
“We are envisioning making the Philippines the hub for electric vehicles … For the 2011 Investment Priorities Plan, we want to continue listing the manufacture of alternative fuel vehicles, especially electric vehicles,” BoI director Rudy B. Caña said at the event, referring to the agency’s annual list of business activities eligible for tax perks.
State-run banks went on to offer credit lines for manufacturers and operators.
The Development Bank of the Philippines, for instance, has a P10-billion fund from the Japan International Cooperation Agency to loan out for “various environmental projects”, its senior assistant vice-president Paul Lazaro said.
“We can support the investment requirements of companies and also provide opportunities for projects to earn carbon credits,” Mr. Lazaro added.
The Land Bank of the Philippines likewise is open to financing projects involving electric vehicles and the construction of charging infrastructure, vice-president Celesta A. Burgos said.
