PE2 meets DOF and BOI to explore common position on EE incentives in EE&C and TRABAHO bills

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, MANILA, Philippines, 22 October 2018 – Officers of the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) met with senior representatives of the Department of Finance (DOF) Strategy, Economics and Results Group (SERG) and the Board of Investments (BOI) in the DOF building earlier today to discuss ways to narrow the gap between the DOF, BOI and PE2 positions on fiscal incentives under both the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) bill and House Bill 8083, otherwise known as the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (TRABAHO, fka TRAIN Package 2) bill.

PE2 was represented by its president Alexander Ablaza, treasurer Theresa Acedillo-Lapuz and member services and communications manager Luigi Eusebio. The DOF-SERG team was led by Director Mark David T. Ablang, who represented DOF Undersecretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua. BOI was represented by its supervising investments specialist Lubin R. de Vera Jr.

The key outcomes of the meeting included: 

• PE2 pushes for the automatic inclusion of EE&C in the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan (SIPP) during the next 15 years to ensure long-term certainty for portfolio equity investors of third-party capital.
• PE2 (and possibly, BOI) seek the removal of foreign capital restrictions to encourage foreign investments.
• PE2 declares that EE&C sector is still in its infancy stage and will certainly need a responsive incentive framework to induce third-party capital flows.
• PE2 suggests that BOI adopt a progressive definition for infrastructure development by including the energy efficiency sector.

On the agreed next steps, PE2 will prepare updated financial simulations using TRABAHO incentives and will propose additional incentives (such as additional expense deductions) that will enable third-party capital flows. BOI will review its definition of infrastructure and its position on foreign ownership under the TRABAHO bill.

Follow-up PE2 meetings with DOF-SERG, including Usec. Chua, and BOI, are being planned, especially leading to the next deliberations by the House Committee on Ways and Means for the EE&C bill.