Sen. Risa Hontiveros is pushing for the Philippines to move beyond electric vehicle assembly and build a domestic parts manufacturing industry, framing the shift as a necessary step toward reducing the country’s reliance on imported oil.
Hontiveros made the call at the third public hearing of the Senate Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy Committee on Monday, citing the case of a Filipino manufacturing stakeholder who abandoned plans to set up a local plant after concluding that Vietnam’s EV supply chain was already sufficient.
“On EVs, one Filipino manufacturing stakeholder said they no longer plan to set up a plant here because Vietnam already has sufficient supply, but encouraged us to increase our EV capacity,” she said.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian threw his support behind the proposal, arguing that electric vehicles represent the only viable path out of the country’s structural oil dependency.
“I support the statements of Sen. Risa Hontiveros. The only way for us to break our addiction to oil is through electric vehicles. We are too dependent on imported oil, and EVs are the only solution,” Gatchalian said.
The hearing also drew warnings about the economic toll already being felt by Filipino households. Sen. Joel Villanueva said rising oil prices, transport fares, and food costs were hitting families directly, and that government plans must translate into measurable relief.
“At the end of the day, plans are not enough; we must be able to clearly show that we are protecting livelihoods and reducing the burden of expenses and worries of our people,” Villanueva said.
Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito separately appealed to agency heads to ensure the president receives accurate, ground-level reports rather than filtered information — a concern he said becomes especially critical during a crisis.
“In Malacañang, it is often the case that nobody wants to be the bearer of bad news, but we must tell what is really happening on the ground, the real situation, so that the decisions of our leadership and concerned agencies will be correct and appropriate,” Ejercito said.
