In a bid to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the Philippines, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has directed government agencies to establish a system that will allow state offices to acquire a significant number of EVs for government use. This was disclosed by the Department of Energy (DOE) during a meeting at Malacañan Palace on Tuesday, where the development of the EV industry was discussed.
The meeting addressed the current EV situation, action plans and strategies, challenges, potential financing schemes, best practices on EV adoption, and ways to expedite the adoption of EVs. “Yes, targeting 10 percent of the fleet to be electric vehicles. He has passed an inter-agency led by the Department of Energy, and the DBM is also there to arrange its procurement and to comply,” said Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella in a press briefing in Malacañang.
In addition to purchasing electric vehicles for the government fleet, the President also wants corresponding charging stations for these vehicles. Under the EV Industry Development Act (EVIDA), the government is mandated to ensure that at least 5 percent of their fleet will be EVs by 2034.
To achieve this, the DOE and DBM need to implement policies and initiatives to accelerate the transition of government fleets to EVs. They also have to update the Omnibus Guidelines on the Acquisition, Use, Rental, and Replacement of Government Motor Vehicles to prioritize EVs in the re-fleeting program of government agencies.
The DBM also plans to conduct a study on the 10-year projection of the EV percentage share, in coordination with the DOE, to determine the fiscal requirement, considering the limited fiscal space. The Japanese government recently provided 85 hybrid technology vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and EVs, including electric chargers to the Philippine government.
Furthermore, the government secured a US$1-billion loan from the Asian Development Bank for the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project; a US$50-million loan from the Green Climate Fund; and a US$10-million loan from the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund.
Currently, there are 30 operational EV routes for e-Public Utility Vehicles (PUV), with 384 e-PUVs plying those routes. There are 7,515 EVs while there are 563 EVCS. The government targets to have 2.45 million EVs and 66,500 EVCS in the country by 2028.