Green with envy

Don’t Drink and Write
By Vernon B. Sarne

Nearly six years ago, in December 2011, I drove the Chevrolet Volt electric-hybrid car on public roads in Switzerland. More than being impressed by the vehicle’s energetic and seamless performance, I was taken by the crisp air that I sliced through as I stepped on the throttle.

Now, I’m not about to say here that green cars are the reason the Swiss breathe cleaner oxygen. That’s largely marketing hogwash. But a random incident at a park pointed me toward the answer: As I left the Volt idling while I took photos of it, an elderly person walked up to me and sternly asked me to kill the engine. Because, you know, incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons is bad for the environment.

It became clear to me that in developed, progressive countries, people actually gave a shit about the air that passed through their nostrils. I imagine they wouldn’t shrug off the sight of a single rickety jeepney chugging along the highway, let alone hundreds of these poison-spewing contraptions. I remember being overcome with envy, because back home Filipino lawmakers would rather obsess over revenge-porn videos than craft meaningful legislation that could make environment-friendlier transportation a reality.

My dissatisfaction was mollified a few months later when, in March 2012, Congress passed House Bill 5460, which proposed incentives for the manufacture and the importation of alternative-fuel vehicles. Incentives, particularly tax breaks, are important in the electric and hybrid car business because, priced as is, green cars are too prohibitive for most car buyers in our market. In fact, according to Toyota Motor Philippines’ Rommel Gutierrez, who is also the president of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI), the Japanese automaker has only sold about a hundred units of the Prius in the country since launching the hybrid model in 2009.

And that’s just talking about hybrid vehicles, whose internal-combustion engines in their propulsion system allow them to be registered with the Land Transportation Office. Completely electric vehicles — devoid of power plants that use fossil fuel — cannot be officially documented due to the LTO’s current method of motor-vehicle classification citing engine displacement and fuel type.

Last I heard about the issue was back in January 2013, when our ever-efficient senators passed Senate Bill 2856, or the “Alternative Fuel Vehicles Incentives Act.” In August that year, I was invited by the group of Manny V. Pangilinan to not only check out Meralco’s pilot EV charging station, but to also drive a fully electric Tesla Model S sedan inside the Meralco compound in Pasig City. Behind the wheel of the high-tech (and utterly quiet) car, I entertained thoughts of green motoring finally dawning in Metro Manila. By Meralco’s own computation, an electric car like the Model S could be operated at a cost of just P1.95 per kilometer. I left the event hopeful.

Today, I write this column still hoping. Although one of our admirable solons did later come up with the “Electric, Hybrid and Other Alternative Fuel Vehicles Promotion Act” in 2014, the whole thing seemed to smack of, um, promotion. Today, you still can’t buy an EV in the Philippines, and those hybrids will still bankrupt you.

Thankfully, we might see the day when green vehicles are common and affordable sooner than later, thanks to the efforts of eco-minded individuals led by Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) president Rommel Juan, who dreams of “less dependence on foreign oil” for his country.

Last week, EVAP, CAMPI and Meralco joined hands in staging the first “ASEAN Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Summit” in Pasay City. Supporting the event were EVAP’s counterparts in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Korea. Looking to “strengthen partnerships for greener transport in ASEAN and beyond,” the organizations signed a memorandum of agreement that would charge the coalition to work together toward fully functional EV infrastructure in the region. The alliance shall be known as the ASEAN Federation of Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Associations.

A big part of the undertaking is generating positive PR for green vehicles and lobbying governments to accommodate them. Which was the whole point of putting together a mini EV exhibit that featured such cars as the Nissan Leaf and the Toyota Prius PHV. Presumably, the organizers wanted to show the public that electrification isn’t exclusive to unsexy tricycles, MPVs and buses — that electric vehicles can have curves and wear psychedelic paint, and be parked inside home garages.

“We intend to pursue more sign-ups from our counterparts in ASEAN countries to give the federation more clout, and for it to live up to its billing as the unified voice of the ASEAN electric and hybrid vehicle industry,” said Mr. Juan in a statement distributed to the assembled media.

Just a small problem, though: The crucial government officials they had invited and hoped to “pressure” (a word that was repeated a number of times during the press conference) didn’t show up and instead sent token representatives. Fingers crossed that this wasn’t an indication of said officials’ disinterest in green vehicles.

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