#wewantcleanairnow

When the alternative fuels incentive act (SB 2856) was approved last week after going through its third and final reading at the senate, the entire automotive industry breathed a huge sigh of relief. We’ve been holding our breath (pun intended) for a bill that promotes clean energy, clean air and green jobs, and the one authored by Ralph Recto seems perfect. 

Basically, the bill seeks to exempt all hybrids and electric vehicles, as well as those powered by either CNG, LPG, wind, solar or any other approved alternative fuel, from excise tax and VAT, among other incentives, to bring the prices of a hybrid or electric vehicle to somewhere within the vicinity of its gasoline counterpart––which in the case of a Prius C, would be somewhere just under a million pesos. 

And as a thank you for making a cleaner, greener choice, the bill seeks to reward you by dropping the Motor Vehicles User Charge (MVUC), which is a significant sum that is automatically built into your registration costs, as well as exempt your vehicle from coding, and as an added bonus, there’s even a provision for providing free parking in all new establishments. 

Also, because the exemption of taxes include raw materials, it also allows local manufacturers to build affordable electric jeeps, tricycles and busses, dramatically reducing the deafening sounds of loud exhaust pipes and clattering diesel engines, and bringing us one step closer to that evasive electric dream of clean, fresh air. 

“If the bill finally will be passed into law, it will lure investors to choose the Philippines as a more viable country in the region, a measure that is crucial to the Electric Vehicle Industry’s launch as it passes currently a sensitive stage of development.”  Rommel T. Juan, Chairman and President of the Electric Vehicle Industry Association of the Philippines (EVAP), said in an official statement Monday.

So what’s the catch? Well, without a bicam, which is the final step before it is passed into law, the bill remains just that: a bill. And an extremely expensive one that none of us can afford to pay—but will eventually do so with our health, the earth, and our reputation as one of the most environmentally irresponsible countries on earth.

Which begs the question: If it is such a great law, why can we not schedule a bicam before Congress goes into break, or worse, before a new one sits? 

During an exchange of messages last Monday, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri told me, “The Department of Finance says that they will lose an estimated 1 billion in tax revenues, but they don’t see the potential of new industries that would be created because of this new law. New industries mean new jobs and more jobs for the people.”

Senator Ralph Recto also expressed his concern in a phone call just minutes before this column went to print, also citing the Department of Finance as the only hurdle in getting the bicam to push through. He explained the value of the bill and called on the public and media alike to support its passage, and urged the Department of Finance to reconsider their position and work together with both the Senate and Congress for the sake of the environment. 

“The bill has a sunset clause in it. We’re only talking about 9 years of tax exemption, after which, everything can be revisited.” Recto explained with traces of frustration and desperation in his voice, as his bill, which he has spent countless man hours, not to mention taxpayers’ money, faces the almost ironic prospect of going up in smoke. 

But while Senator Recto sees the window shrinking, he insists that there is still hope. As congress prepares to go into break today and everyone’s attention is spent on the elections, we only have three sessions in June to hold a bicam and ratify the bill before a new congress sits on June 30, otherwise the bill gets junked and it needs to start from scratch, despite it already passing through both congress and senate. 

And this is where you can help. If you want clean air, clean vehicles, green jobs and zero emission public utility vehicles in the near future, speak up now. Make your voice, and more importantly, your vote count. Clean air doesn’t come cheap, and as concerned voters during an election period, you now have the power to make our government pay for it. 

The Philippines is one of the last of the ASEAN countries to provide tax incentives for alternative fuel vehicles. It is time we start setting better standards for ourselves, for our children. I haven’t met a single person that said they wouldn’t buy a hybrid or electric vehicle if the price was comparable to the full gasoline equivalent. It always comes down to cost. Someone has to absorb it and who better than the very people who, during their very expensive election campaigns at least, claim to be the saviours of the world. 

The fact that even the big oil companies have not been seen or heard lobbying against this bill just goes to show that there is a bigger picture here. Our air quality along EDSA is among the worst in the world. Tests conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) indicated that the amount of total suspended particles, which consists of carbon monoxide and sulfur molecules from vehicles that have mixed with dust, was at 280 ug/ncm (microgram per normal cubic meter). The normal standard is 90 ug/ncm. 

It doesn’t need to be that way. With the power of social media, everyone has an equal voice. Use it. We’re so close. Let’s not let this slip away simply because of money. This shouldn’t be about dollars but sense. We’ve made Mother Nature our slave for too long now; it is time we start taking care of her. God forgives. Man forgives. Nature doesn’t. And we all know what they say about a woman scorned. 

You can contact the author at [email protected].