Transportation modernization is push for e-vehicles: Marcos

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is supporting moves to modernize public utility vehicles but said proper implementation of the policy would be needed.

"Ngunit, sa pag-aaral ko, parang hindi naging maganda ang implementation nung modernization," he said during a chance interview with reporters.

The President said while transportation modernization is important to help reduce cost for passengers, it is "not urgent" because current infrastructure for modern transport still needs to be built.

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"Tama naman yun. Kailangan safe yung mga jeepney, yung mga tricycle, yung mga bus, kailangan safe 'yan. Pero iba-iba yung naging standards ng kanilang ginawa," he added.

This will also allow jeepneys and other mode of public transport, he said, to be safe. However, he said he is against decommissioning jeepneys that could still be used.

"May mga luma naman na maganda pa rin, eh. May luma naman na pwede pang gamitin. So baka yun tingnan natin," said Marcos. " Eh kung magandang mag-alaga yung driver? Maganda yung jeep niya, 'di pwede pang gamitin 'yan, safe pa naman."

Marcos also called on transport groups to stop their scheduled strike, saying commuters will suffer.

Jeepney and UV operators have scheduled a strike from March 6 to 12 to express their opposition from the modernization program.

The Department of Transportation said government has contingency plans in place in case their talks with transport groups collapse, with Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista confident that this would not push through after the dialogue.

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E-VEHICLES

This move is also considered the first step towards the integration of electric vehicles, said Marcos, Jr. It can be remembered that in January, he issued an order cutting tariffs for electric vehicle parts to zero.

The President said a timetable is needed, however, to know when this policy could be fully implemented, adding that the issue is "not that simple."

"We will eventually move there. Pero kailangan pa rin nating ayusin ang supply ng renewables," he told reporters.

"Ang sinasabi nila-- kasi nag-e-encourage tayo ng electric vehicles pero aayusin niyo muna yung source of power. So ganoon ang mga issue diyan sa modernization na hinaharap ng ating mga public utility vehicles," he added.

When asked if more time is needed to study the proposal on modernization, he answered in the negative but reiterated that government must be able to "implement it in a different way."

Marcos also noted that the country's infrastructure for electric vehicles and renewables are still poor.

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"'Yung modernization siguro, we have to look properly at what the real timetable is for the introduction of electric vehicles," he said.