BOI respects Marcos veto of P4.32B CARS funding

The Board of Investments (BOI) on Monday said it understands President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decision to veto the P4.32-billion budget allocation for fiscal support under the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program.

Funding for the CARS program was among the 10 line items under the P6.793-trillion 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) vetoed by the President before signing the law on Monday, amounting to a total of P92.5 billion.

“We fully respect the decision of the President. We understand the context of his overall decision on Unprogrammed Appropriations,” BOI Managing Head and Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo told reporters in a Viber message.

The CARS program, introduced by the BOI through Executive Order No. 182, aims to attract new investments, stimulate demand, and strengthen industry regulations to revitalize the Philippine automotive sector and position the country as a regional automotive manufacturing hub.

“And to our investors, we firmly assure that we are already working with other agencies, principally the DBM, in identifying a mechanism to ensure payment of CARS arrearages, especially as these had been based on validated delivery of performance commitments and on a robust and transparent inter-agency process of vetting claims against the CARS Program,” Rodolfo said.

Aside from CARS, other line items vetoed under the 2026 GAA included budgetary support for government-owned or controlled corporations (P6.895 million); insurance for government assets (P2 billion); prior years’ local government unit shares (P14 million); the Regional Agri-Aqua Innovation System Enhancement (RAISE) program (P250,000); government counterpart funding for foreign-assisted projects (P35.769 billion); payment of personal services requirements (P43.345 billion); the Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure and Social Programs (SAGIP) fund (P80 billion); Public Health Emergency Benefits (P6.7 billion); and the Marawi Siege Victims’ Compensation Fund (P2 billion).

Under the CARS program, the government, through the BOI, committed to providing fiscal support to participating firms that invest in and produce at least 200,000 units of their registered vehicle model within six years.

The BOI issues tax payment certificates (TPCs) to participating automotive and parts manufacturers as incentives, which may be used to pay taxes and duties on imports.

To date, only two firms—Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. for the Vios model and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. for the Mirage—have joined the program.

The CARS program is designed to provide time-bound, output- or performance-based fiscal support to attract strategic investments in the manufacturing of motor vehicles and related parts. Other non-fiscal incentives under existing laws, rules, and regulations will continue to be implemented by relevant government agencies.