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Local companies of car makers in the Philippines have formally asked the government to temporarily suspend duties on some automotive spare parts and requested to be provided with an express late at ports of entry. The request by the local automakers was made to speed up the importation of the needed parts, making the repair of thousand of vehicles damaged by the flood of tropical storm Ondoy faster.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi), in their letter to the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Department of Trade and (DTI), and the Board of Investments (BOI), said they will convert the savings from the temporary elimination of tariffs on the needed parts into discounts for owners of the flood-damaged vehicles.

Campi secretary-general Homer Maranan said, “This is one way to alleviate the condition of the motorists because we know that aside from their vehicles, their homes and appliances were also damaged by the flood.”

Meanwhile, even without waiting for government’s reply to their request, market leader Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMPC) announced that it has started giving discounts on both labor and parts to Toyota owners whose vehicles were damaged by the recent calamity.

Vitaliano Mamawal III, TMPC vice president for customer service operations said, “Our affiliates in the Asia-Pacific region are helping us and the critical parts that we ordered last week are already arriving in the next few days. We are now also looking for additional spaces to accommodate our customers.” He added that their dealers have already serviced about 2,500 vehicles since the onslaught of Ondoy.

The discounts given by TMPC according to Mamawal ranges 40% for engine electronic controls to 20% for other selected flood-damaged parts and 20% on labor. He said the TMPC’s dealers will have a special help desk for typhoon victim-clients, and their customers can also contact the Toyota customer assistance hot line in the metropolis at 819-2912.