All is set for the issuance of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA), the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Department of Energy (DOE) assured on Wednesday, as the agencies concluded a series of public consultations conducted in a bid to develop a comprehensive policy direction to accelerate the utilization and commercialization of electric vehicles in the country.
The final draft of the IRR was presented to more than 100 representatives from national government agencies, local government units, government and private financing institutions, as well as representatives from the academe and the private sector in the final leg of the consultations held at the Holiday Inn, Makati City.
The finalization of the draft IRR was led by representatives from the DOTr, DOE, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Energy Secure Philippines Activity, and was also witnessed by more than 300 virtual participants who subscribed to the event online.
For the DOTr’s part, Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure, Atty. Mark Steven C. Pastor, expressed the DOTr’s gratitude to all stakeholders as he highlighted three words in his speech—- Pleased, Promise, and Prayer.
“Number 1, the word pleased, we are very pleased with the outcome of this public consultation,” Usec. Pastor said, adding that the success is a result of everyone’s support. He further expressed the DOTr’s “promise” to fully implement and enforce the provisions of the EVIDA and its corresponding IRR.
Usec. Pastor concluded his speech with a challenge and a call for “prayer” as real work will officially begin once the IRR is released. “We ask the prayers of everyone. We need the support of everyone so that we will be successful in this endeavor,” he concluded.
The DOE and DOTr conducted a series of public consultations to solicit inputs from all stakeholders, including government agencies and private partners, to ensure that the IRR is thoroughly vetted, and inputs from the EV industry players had been studied and considered in the final draft.
Aimed at developing a coordinated policy direction among national government agencies and other stakeholders, the public consultations kicked off on 19 August 2022.
The EVIDA-IRR is expected to be issued on 08 September 2022.
