A deputy speaker in the House of Representatives is batting for the inclusion of electric motorcycles in the recently issued Executive Order (EO) No. 12, which imposes zero percent tariff on electric vehicles.

According to Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza, the tax incentives in the Palace-issued directive "will make investing easier and help businesses to flourish which will translate to more employment opportunities for Filipinos".

Mendoza also lauded the directive for its clean-air intent, since it seeks to enhance the effectiveness of gov’t laws to decarbonize and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the country.

EO No. 12 temporarily modifies the tariff rate for the importation of electric vehicles.

Prior to its signing, electrically propelled vehicles were subject to import duties ranging from five to 30 percent. Under EO12, these import duties have been cut to zero percent, effectively halting it for the next five years.

However, Mendoza pointed out that EO12 may have overlooked the two-wheeled electric motorcycles in the grant of tax breaks.

"It appears that under the Presidential issuance, not all types of electric vehicles are granted zero percent tax rate. Only kick scooters, self-balancing cycle, pocket motorcycle, as well as bicycles with an auxiliary electric motor not exceeding 250w (watts) and with maximum speed not exceeding 25 km/h (kilometer per hour) are included in the tariff cut," he said.

"How about the two-wheeled electric motorcycles? Or those with auxiliary electric motor exceeding 250w and with maximum speed exceeding 25km/h? There is no substantial distinction between the articles currently imposed with zero percent tariff and the electric motorcycles which are still subject to 30 percent import duty. I hope this matter will be revisited," added the labor leader-turned congressman.

Since the start of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s administration, TUCP has been pushing for its Sustainable Industrial Policy program to be included in the national employment creation strategy.

Under this program, an industry promotion strategy shall be formulated that will anchor on identifying the priority sectors and matching them with available skills for each region, based on their respective comparative advantage.

"This tax incentive on electric vehicles is a good springboard for industry promotion and to generate new jobs for our people especially since the growing market demand will encourage businesses to expand," Mendoza noted.

"But we can't harness the opportunities if we do not have a fully developed industry, so if we want this tariff reduction to really make an impact in the local industry, we have to utilize everything that will serve the purpose, including all kinds of electric vehicles,” he said.