Pilipinas Shell has opened its first charging station located at Shell Mamplasan. These ultra-fast chargers cost P65 per minute to use. Earlier this month, Republic Act no. 11697 finally lapsed into law without President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature. Better known as the country’s Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act, it’s being heralded by its proponents as a possible game-changer in the fight to clean up the local transportation sector. Republic Act no. 11697, or the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act, includes a long list of goals. To make a long story short, its aim is to make Philippine transportation as a whole a more conducive environment for the development and use of EVs. The hope is that with mass adoption, more jobs will be generated, a new industry will blossom, and Filipinos will be healthier and better protected from the greenhouse effect. The gameplan Under the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act, a national development plan for the local EV industry must be adhered to in order to accelerate EV adoption, commercialization, and development. This is referred to as the Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry (CREVI). Some of the most important bits the CREVI will cover include the development and installation of EV charging stations, the dedication of parking slots to EVs, manufacturing standards for EVs and EV-related components, as well as the overall promotion and adoption of EVs. Number coding scheme exemption Throw out that plan to buy a second car just to avoid the number coding scheme. Instead, why not just switch over to an EV? Yes, that’s right. EVs will be exempted from the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program. To be clear, this exempts EVs from both enforcement by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and local government units that implement number coding (looking at you, Makati City). What’s more, EVs will be issued a special type of license plate by the Land Transportation Office (LTO). Registration perks Penny pinchers may want to jump on the bandwagon as soon as prices go down, because EV users are in for some sizable discounts when registering their vehicle with the LTO. Under the CREVI, battery electric vehicle (BEV) owners are entitled to a 30% discount on the motor vehicle users charge (MVUC), while hybrid owners get 15% off. What’s more, BEV and hybrid users will have the registration process expedited for them. These discounts will also apply to EV and hybrid inspection fees for the first eight years of this Act’s effectivity.