Senate stepping in to fine-tune PHL auto industry roadmap

(Updated 7:20 p.m.) The Senate is stepping in to make sure the Philippine automotive industry roadmap is oriented towards the logistics and infrastructure policies and formulated as such that carmakers will emerge competitive under a single market environment once the ASEAN Economic Community is in place starting next year, Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV said Thursday.

 

The Senate committee on trade will call for a hearing next week to present the much delayed long-term plan or industry road map, Aquino told reporters on the sidelines of the 5th Philippine International Motor Show in Pasay City. 

 

"Basically, the gist is we'll call for a hearing to present the automotive roadmap to the public and harmonize with different policies," he said.

 

"The challenge is to make sure the local manufacturing industry remains viable and competitive especially in the ASEAN integration that will be happening next year," he added.

 

By 2015, the ASEAN Economic Community sets in motion a single market spanning the 10-nation bloc. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

 

The senator sees the importance of a roadmap for the automotive industry, Rommel Gutierrez, Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) president, told reporters in the same event.

 

"He's aware of efforts of DTI, he's willing to support and align other government policies so that the roadmap will really be comprehensive," he said.

 

It's really up to government whether the industry policy will face further delays or will soon be implemented, Gutierrez noted.

 

"We're just waiting for the road map. It's in the hands of government right now. DTI is working on it. Congress has a separate bill for that and we're willing to assist," Gutierrez said.


Integrated with govt plans

 

For the automotive industry to be successful, it needs to be integrated with government's plans on infrastructure and logistics, Aquino said.

 

"At the minimum, we need to look at our infrastructure. It's important our infrastructure roadmap takes into consideration the type and number of cars on the road," he said.

 

"We want to go into a process with CAMPI, DOTC [Department of Transportation and Communication], Department of Public Works and Highways] to find out if the support mechanisms with this industry will go hand-in-hand," the senator revealed.

 

"As chairman of trade, we can look into this if these roadmaps are complementing each other rather than contradicting each other," the senator noted.

 

The local car manufacturing industry is hoping for a long-term plan that will include adequate fiscal and non-fiscal incentives such as tax credits and common testing facilities for auto parts makers to ease manufacturing disadvantages and inconsistencies.

 

Discussions on the industry roadmap started in 2012, and were supposed to be released in the first quarter of 2014, but were deferred as the DTI needed to "fine-tune" the details.

 

While Japanese carmakers are willing to stay in the Philippines, the industry policy is necessary for them to ramp up production, Gutierrez earlier told GMA News Online. – VS, GMA News