MANILA — The Philippine government is still pushing to release the joint administrative order (JAO) that will implement the Revitalizing the Automotive Industry for Competitiveness Enhancement (RACE) program within the year, the Board of Investments (BoI) said.

“We’re trying to have it released before the end of the year,” BoI Executive Director for Industry Development Services Ma. Corazon H. Dichosa told reporters late Tuesday on the sidelines of the Fourth ASEAN Investment Forum.

The JAO for the program is currently with the BoI, which is still soliciting comments on the draft order. A joint administrative order is a binding regulatory issuance executed by multiple government agencies, so the comments gathered at this stage can still shape the final terms automakers would operate under.

EVIS guidelines take priority

Ms. Dichosa said the government is prioritizing the release of the implementing guidelines for the Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy (EVIS), as the program is due to start accepting applications for slots early next year. The EVIS is mandated under Republic Act No. 11697, the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA), the 2022 law that established an incentives framework for the Philippine electric vehicle industry. Taken together, the two timelines give Philippine assemblers parallel incentive tracks to weigh: EVIS for electric vehicles, with applications opening early next year, and RACE for combustion-engine production, with rules targeted for release before year-end.

Toyota the only registrant so far

She noted that several companies have inquired about RACE, but only Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. has expressed interest in registering its Tamaraw model for the program. The Tamaraw is the Japanese automaker’s locally assembled utility vehicle. With the program structured for three participants, two of the three P3-billion allocations have no committed registrant yet.

Expected signatories

The signatories expected to execute the JAO include the departments of Trade and Industry, Finance, and Budget and Management, as well as the bureaus of Customs, Internal Revenue, and Treasury.

Program details

RACE aims to encourage the local production of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by providing P9 billion worth of incentives to automakers, with three participating automakers set to receive P3 billion each. The program effectively serves as the successor to the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS), the incentive scheme launched in 2015 to revive local vehicle assembly in the Philippines.

The government revived the RACE program after reversing a decision to concentrate future incentives on electric vehicles, citing continued demand for ICE vehicles.

The requested funding for RACE was included in the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) second-tier budget proposal for 2027, Trade Undersecretary and BoI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo has said, placing the program’s funding within the government’s 2027 budget process.

Near-term markers to follow include the formal signing of the JAO by the six named agencies, the final text that emerges from the comment period, and the release of the EVIS guidelines ahead of next year’s application opening.

— Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, BusinessWorld

Primary source: Government targets release of RACE guidelines this year