Dear Atty. Angela,

I have been planning to buy a hybrid vehicle learning that it will save me on gas expenses. I live in Alabang and work in Makati so this will be helpful with my finances.

My major concern is the number coding scheme since Makati City does not have window hours. I heard from a friend that there is a law that exempts electric vehicles from coding.

Is this true? And since I will be purchasing a hybrid car, is this included in the list of exempt vehicles?

Kenneth

Dear Kenneth,

Yes, there is a law which exempts electric vehicles (including hybrid units) from number coding scheme for a duration of eight years from time of passage which was in 2022.

Section 25 of Republic Act 11697 or the “Electric Vehicle Industry Act” (EVIA) provides:

“SECTION 25. Non-Fiscal Incentives. — The following

non-fiscal incentives shall remain in force for eight years from the effectivity of this Act:

(a) For EV users:

(1) Priority registration and renewal of registration, and issuance of a special type of vehicle plate by the LTO;

(2) Exemption from the mandatory unified vehicular volume reduction program, number-coding scheme, or other similar schemes implemented by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, other similar agencies, and LGUs;”

The EVIA law likewise provides that “(k) Electric vehicle refers to a vehicle with at least one (1) electric drive for vehicle propulsion. For purposes of this Act, it includes a BEV, hybrid-electric vehicle, light electric vehicle, and a plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle”.

Clearly, the hybrid-electric vehicle that you intend to buy shall also be exempt from the number coding scheme.

Atty. Angela Antonio