MANILA – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, in its sixteenth meeting held yesterday (May 15), approved the recommendations of the Committee on Tariff and Related Matters (CTRM) based on the review of Executive Order (EO) No. 12 (s. 2023), which temporarily modified the rates of import duty on electric vehicles (EVs), their parts, and components under the purview of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
Chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., the NEDA Board has agreed to maintain the Most Favored Nation (MFN) rate at zero until 2028 on 34 tariff lines of battery electric vehicles currently covered under EO 12. It has also decided to expand the list of articles with reduced duty to include e-motorcycles and e-bicycles, and nickel metal hydride accumulators, and reduce the duty on these articles to zero until 2028.
The expansion in the coverage of EO 12 also includes other types of EVs, particularly battery e-tricycles and quadricycles; battery, hybrid EV (HEV) and plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) jeepneys/buses; and HEV and PHEV cars and trucks; as well as completely knocked down (CKD) EVs for all types of vehicles. The tariffs on these articles shall be reduced to zero until 2028.
“Executive Order No. 12 is designed to stimulate the electric vehicle (EV) market in the country, support the transition to emerging technologies, reduce our transport system’s reliance on fossil fuels, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions attributed to road transport. By encouraging consumers to adopt EVs, we are promoting a cleaner, more resilient, and more environmentally friendly transportation alternative,” said Balisacan, who also serves as the vice chairperson of the NEDA Board.
President Marcos Jr. has further instructed the CTRM to conduct an annual review of the rates to ensure timeliness, applicability, and impact on the sectors concerned due to the modification in duties of EVs.
In addition to these tariff-related decisions, the NEDA Board has also approved several game-changing programs, projects, and policies that are expected to significantly contribute to the country’s social and economic transformation.
Facility for Accelerating Studies for Infrastructure (FAST-Infra)
To drive robust infrastructure development aligned with country’s sustainable development goals, the NEDA Board has approved the Facility
for Accelerating Studies for Infrastructure, or FAST-Infra, Project. With a total cost of PhP 2.75 billion, FAST-Infra will initially focus on the transportation sector by providing fund support in formulating high quality transportation master plans and develop a robust pipeline of big-ticket transportation projects that would strengthen both national and regional connectivity.
Infrastructure for Safer and Resilient Schools (ISRS) Project
The NEDA Board has greenlighted the Infrastructure for Safer and Resilient Schools (ISRS) Project. This project is designed to address the urgent physical recovery needs of schools affected by natural disasters between 2019 and 2023. It involves several interventions, including the repair, rehabilitation, retrofitting, and reconstruction for the recovery of damaged school facilities outside Metro Manila.
The project will strictly adhere to the country’s latest multi-hazard resilient design provisions, strategically integrating vulnerability reduction measures into its engineering design to ensure enhanced performance of recovered infrastructure in the face of future hazard occurrences. With project implementation scheduled from 2024 to 2029, this will benefit 13,101 classrooms across 1,282 schools nationwide, equivalent to 741,038 students.
Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (Project SPLIT)
In line with the Marcos Administration’s agenda to modernize agribusiness and strengthen agricultural institutions, the NEDA Board has approved the extension of the implementation period from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2027 and loan validity from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027 for the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) Project. With a total project cost of PhP 24.62 billion, this Official Development Assistance (ODA)-financed project, led by the Department of Agrarian Reform, aims to improve land tenure security, and stabilize the property rights of agrarian reform beneficiaries.
As of December 2023, a total of 78,657 e-titles covering 105,691 hectares have been registered to 85,665 agrarian reform beneficiaries, of which 54,698 registered e-titles covering 72,996 hectares have been distributed to 59,375 agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 East Extension
Completed in 2021, the PhP 8.41 billion LRT Line East Extension Project includes the construction of additional two stations—the Marikina and Antipolo stations. While this project is already completed and is currently in full operation, this request for an extension in the implementation period intends to facilitate full disbursement to project contractors and consultants and ensure the quality of the project until the end of its defects liability period in December 2024.
“This series of approvals by the NEDA Board marks a significant step towards the country’s social and economic transformation. As the nation moves forward, the decisions made today will play a crucial role in shaping a more prosperous and sustainable future for the Philippines,” stated the government’s chief economic planner.
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