The Department of Science and Technology wants LGUs and private investors to put money into Filipino-made electric vehicles, pitching a portfolio that runs from e-trikes to an electric ferry, and the timing is no accident: fuel prices are the sales pitch.
Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. made the case this week at the 2nd Sustainability Expo, the DOST program in partnership with SM Prime and ARISE Philippines, telling The Philippine Star the agency has been talking to local government leaders and running proof-of-concept deployments to convince drivers to switch.
Here is what DOST is pitching, what is already on the road, and what the industry says it still needs.
The pitch: invest in Pinoys, not just EVs
The DOST’s argument is simple: Filipino-made EVs protect drivers from fuel prices, and scaling production needs local buyers.
“We’ve been talking to local government leaders and we have various modalities of engagement just to provide a proof of concept to convince our drivers to transition,” Solidum told The Philippine Star.
Three companies, including an agricultural firm from Isabela, are already lining up to mass-produce electric tricycles, according to the DOST.
The pitch predates the current fuel spike: the agency has been promoting sustainable transport since before the Middle East conflict pushed pump prices up, per its PCIEERD research arm.
The prototypes already on the road
Electric tricycles developed under DOST programs are already deployed in Tuguegarao City, Cauayan City, Batanes, Iloilo, and parts of Metro Manila.
The research engine is the Electromobility Research and Development Center at Cagayan State University in Tuguegarao, the country’s only dedicated hub for green transport innovation, whose first project is a seven-passenger electric tricycle.
The DOST portfolio goes well beyond trikes, and the full list tells the story of a government betting on local EV engineering.
The complete DOST EV portfolio
| Project | What it is | Status |
|---|---|---|
| E-Trike | Electric tricycle for public transport | Deployed: Tuguegarao, Cauayan, Batanes, Iloilo, Metro Manila |
| C-Trike | Converted electric tricycle, 4.5 kWh per 56.4 km | Prototype, efficiency-tested |
| 7-Passenger E-Trike | First project of the CSU Electromobility Center | In development |
| E-Jeepney | 23-seater electric jeepney (EVAP) | Prototype, aimed at fleet replacement |
| MB Dalaray | Electric ferry for short water routes | Serving the Pasig River, 2 runs daily |
| Hybrid Electric Train | 20-meter-per-coach pilot trainset with PNR | Pilot, rail modernization |
| CharM | Local fast-charging system, ~30 minute charge | Stations live in QC, UP, malls, Dapitan |
The E-Jeepney, a 23-seater developed with the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines, targets the aging jeepney fleets that still dominate Metro Manila streets.
The MB Dalaray electric ferry runs the Pasig River twice daily, Guadalupe to Escolta and back, proving electric propulsion works on water as well as land.
CharM: the charging answer
One of the biggest EV adoption barriers is charging downtime, and the DOST-funded CharM system attacks it directly: a locally engineered fast charger that brings e-trikes and community vehicles back to full in about 30 minutes.
CharM stations are already live at the Quezon City Hall Compound, UP Diliman, Megaworld properties including Eastwood Mall and Uptown Mall BGC, plus sites in Cauayan, Tuguegarao, Pasig, Antipolo, Pasay, Alabang, and Dapitan City.
That network turns the LGU pitch into something operational: buy the e-trike, and the charging grid already exists in many of the same cities.
The industry’s plea: government support
Elmer Francisco, chairman of Francisco Motors, the 79-year-old jeepney brand that recently launched the first Filipino-made electric SUV, told One News the industry has been waiting decades for exactly the kind of push DOST is now making.
“We haven’t had any support from our government for decades,” Francisco said, adding that the last real support came through government procurement under President Marcos’ father.
That quote frames the DOST campaign’s real stake: prototypes and pilots exist, but mass production needs buyers, and the government’s own procurement is the most reliable first customer.
The policy context
The DOST push sits on top of a broader incentive strategy. President Marcos approved an EV incentive program in late July 2026, reported by BusinessWorld, designed to attract investment in local EV manufacturing and components.
Qualifying companies must undertake new investments of at least PHP 5 billion in capital, and the program targets up to four participating EV manufacturers with fiscal support capped at PHP 15 billion per model.
The combination is deliberate: DOST provides the proof of concept, the incentive program provides the money, and the LGU pitch provides the first mass market.
The bottom line
The DOST is not asking Filipinos to buy a speculative technology. It is asking LGUs and investors to scale vehicles that are already running in Tuguegarao, Iloilo, Batanes, and Metro Manila, with a charging network already in place in key cities.
The fuel price argument is the hook, but the deeper case is industrial: a Filipino EV industry needs Filipino buyers, and DOST is trying to create both.
The question now is whether the private sector and LGUs answer the call, and whether the PHP 15 billion per model incentive is enough to close the gap Francisco says has been open for decades.
