EV revolution shifts to high gear
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) plan to cut approval time for electric vehicle (EV) charging projects by up to half is welcome news for the public and the local auto industry, which may be losing sleep over the elevated prices of gas and diesel at the pump amid the unresolved geopolitical conflict in the Middle East.
Anxiously waiting for this plan are current battery EV owners and those considering ditching their gasoline- or diesel-powered cars to switch to fully electric vehicles (BEVs, or battery electric vehicles, also called pure EVs), or electrified vehicles like plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and hybrids.
The DOE, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Public Works and Highways, and Anti-Red Tape Authority are preparing a joint administrative order. The goal is to shorten the permitting process for EV charging stations from six months to three months or less. And there’s more to this proposed framework: these agencies can process applications simultaneously, with plans to have a “deemed-approved mechanism for permits that are not acted upon within prescribed periods” (see “More EV charging projects pushed,” Automotive, 6/5/26).
The joint executive order, once issued, will be a shot in the arm for the automotive industry, which is seeing unprecedented demand for EVs (36 percent in the first quarter). Many of us are finally convinced of the wisdom of transitioning from traditional combustion engines to EVs, which are more cost-effective in the long run and better for the planet in many ways. For as long as gasoline- and diesel-powered engines dominate our roads, air pollution, environmental degradation, and the abundance of heat-trapping gases blamed for climate change will persist. That it would take the so-called war of the titans in the Middle East to rouse us from our stupor is a testament to humanity’s enduring capacity to adapt, for necessity is the mother of invention.
There are around 1,600 charging points nationwide, which is obviously insufficient to meet the growing demand for EVs on the roads these days. The DOE is thus targeting about 7,000 charging points by 2028.
‘Range’ anxiety. Once this charging infrastructure is built nationwide, driving range anxiety will be greatly diminished for BEV users and electric mass transport. Currently, PHEVs have a significant advantage over BEVs because the former can use gasoline when charging stations are unavailable. PHEVs, like all hybrid cars, also have regenerative braking that charges the battery while driving in HEV mode, further increasing driving range.
The plan to deploy more charging stations came on the heels of yet another move that can set the automotive sector on a path to carbon neutrality. The Marcos administration recently decided to scrap the incentive for producing gas-powered vehicles, wisely shifting gears to finalize the planned Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy. This is on top of the exemption from paying excise taxes and import tariffs for BEVs and a 50 percent tax reduction for hybrids. EVs enjoy traffic number coding exemption, too.
Carbon footprint. Critics of electric cars point to the higher carbon footprint associated with building EVs, such as battery mining, and to the fact that charging PHEVs and BEVs depends largely on fossil fuels (e.g., coal power plants).
However, throughout their entire lifespan, BEVs are significantly more environmentally friendly than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. How so? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Climate Portal explained this neatly (source: tinyurl.com/4pjajw4v). “Although electric cars’ batteries make them more carbon-intensive to manufacture than gas cars, they more than make up for it by driving much cleaner under nearly any conditions,” says the MIT article.
The most obvious difference is tailpipe emissions. Smog from conventional ICE cars contains harmful chemical compounds, including carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter, which BEVs do not emit. But let’s be clear: electric cars are not a magic wand for solving climate change, particularly when it comes to the elusive goal of zero emissions in the transport sector. However, “over the course of their driving lifetimes, EVs will create fewer carbon emissions,” says MIT’s Sergey Paltsev.
One 2025 life cycle emissions study proved that an EV running on a standard United States power grid typically “breaks even” and becomes cleaner than gasoline cars within 1.4 to 1.9 years due to the high energy efficiency of EVs, quickly offsetting the higher emissions that battery manufacturing entails (source: tinyurl.com/2s4z9yd8).
Moreover, many countries already account for renewable energy (RE) in their electricity mix. In the Philippines, RE sources such as solar and wind power, hydropower, and geothermal power increased by 31 percent in 2025, and the RE capacity share—already the fifth highest in the region—is targeted by the DOE to reach 50 percent by 2040. This data debunks the myth that EVs still fully rely on fossil fuels for charging.
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