AT The Manila Times Automotive Forum the other week, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said something many policymakers rarely admit publicly. Despite the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (Evida), nearly three years of incentives, growing public awareness, increased bank financing, and heightened industry attention, electric vehicle (EV) adoption in the Philippines remains painfully low.

EVs still account for only around 1 percent of total vehicle sales in the country. To be clear, this figure refers exclusively to battery-electric vehicles. That number may not bother everyone, but it should. Not because EVs are fashionable or because the world is chasing decarbonization targets, but because the Philippines imports nearly all of its oil requirements.