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LOCAL
autoparts makers are pushing for the grant of incentives
to car assemblers and parts makers that will participate
in the proposed Philippine Utility Vehicle (PhUV)
Program and later to buyers of the low-priced PhUV.
The
Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the
Phils. (MVPMAP) said this is one of the initiatives they
will take up in the next meeting of the tripartite PhUV
Technical Working Group (TWG) created by the Board of
Investments to study the PhUV Program.
The
PhUV TWG is composed of the car assemblers, parts makers
and the BOI.
MVPMAP director Ferdi Raquelsantos said his group will
seek exemption from excise tax for the PhUV similar to
those given to the jeeps and trucks, income tax
holidays, duty-free importation of raw materials and
machinery, reduced fuel prices for buyers similar to
those extended to the public utility jeepneys (PUJs),
reduced PhUV LTO registration and a government-led
retail financing to make the PhUV affordable.
They
are also looking at asking for reduced excise tax for a
PhUV unit that can run on alternative fuel, whether
gasoline with ethanol (E5 or E10) or the biodiesel.
They
will also push for the government’s strict
implementation of the Clean Air Act and the Motor
Vehicle Inspection System to ensure a vehicle’s safety,
roadworthiness and compliance to environmental
standards.
Trade
Undersecretary and BOI managing head Elmer C. Hernandez
told reporters over the weekend that the PhUV-TWG is now
crafting the framework that would be used as basis for
proposed legislation by Rep. Junie Cua and Sen. Manuel
A. Roxas II, both chairmen of the legislative committees
on trade, that would create the favorable environment
for the local manufacturing of cheap utility vehicles.
“It will be finished by July in time for the opening of
the new Congress,” the official said.
The
group will use as basis for the framework the three
different initiatives that have been laid down already.
First
is the proposal of Cua for the refleeting of the
existing public utility vehicles using locally assembled
vehicles with brand new engines.
Next
is the initiative of the MVPMAP for the production of
PhUV.
The
third is Roxas’ proposal for the domestic manufacturing
of vehicles that would cater to the C-D classes.
All
these, the official said, will require legislation since
their viability would entail different tax exemptions,
financing schemes and cooperation by numerous government
agencies.
Their
goal, Hernandez said, is to expand the auto market from
the traditional A-B segments to include the C-D classes
by making the prices of brand-new vehicles cheaper.
“If
you want a fully developed market, you should include
the C and D,” he said.
A
bigger market, he added, would make it easier for auto
manufacturers to produce a vehicle prototype fitted to
the needs of most Filipinos, which ideally is a vehicle
that can carry both cargoes and people as espoused by
the MVPMAP in its PhUV initiative. |
