The Philippine automotive industry recently took a blow as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vetoed financial support for two major and ongoing programs in 2026.
These are the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) and the Revitalizing the Automotive Industry for Competitiveness Enhancement (RACE) programs. Both of these will have no funding from the government this year.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) has now released a statement regarding the matter. It emphasized the importance of collaboration between the government and the auto industry in order to reel in future investments and build a “more robust local auto parts manufacturing industry.”
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“Recent developments have raised serious concerns on the funding for the financial
incentive commitments granted under the [CARS] Program. The participants should be able to receive their incentives based on their actual performance that already generated economic benefits,” CAMPI’s statement further read.
“Meanwhile, the [RACE] Program is an important transition to future industry development programs and should be implemented soon. Both CARS and RACE are fundamental programs that contribute to the overall industrial development of the country. We fully trust and support efforts of key government agencies in urgently resolving these important matters.”
No word yet from the government whether or not these programs can secure new funding this year, so we’re not quite sure yet what’s going to happen moving forward. Rest assured, if there are any updates on the matter, we’ll keep you all posted.
