The Energy Department donated 200 electric tricycles to residents of Boracay to support the tourism development in the country’s top resort island following its six-month rehabilitation.
The agency signed a memorandum of agreement with the Transportation Department and local government unit of Malay town in Aklan for the donation of 200 energy-efficient e-trikes.
“The e-trikes is our contribution to Boracay as we embark on a more sustainable tourism development for the island,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a statement Monday.
“We have partnered with DOTr and the Malay, Aklan LGU in order to improve the public transport system for the tourists and most specially for the Boracaynons as a form of livelihood,” Cusi said.
The DoE e-trike project, through the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force, aims to provide a more sustainable and efficient mode of transportation for the public and offer livelihood opportunities through alternative transport system.
One of the major beneficiaries of the e-trike project is the Boracay Ati Tribal Organization in coordination with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples. A total of 10 e-trikes will be given to Bato, which were intended for their livelihood.
The Interior and Local Government Department and the DOTr will assist the DoE in the shipment of the e-trike units to Malay, Aklan.
Cusi said electric vehicles would reduce the vulnerability of the country on the volatility of international oil price movements and other economic impacts.
“We have to offer a new perspective for the Boracay transport system through alternative energy technologies. The e-trikes is a concrete example of this and the government’s promise of building back Boracay better,” he said.
The government’s e-trike project is funded by a loan from the Asian Development Bank amounting to P1.73 billion for the Market Transformation Through the Introduction of Energy Efficient Vehicles (E-trike) Project which was extended until May 2019.
The program calls for the rollout of 3,000 e-trikes by May 2019.
The e-trike project initially sought to roll out 100,000 units of electric tricycle funded from the ADB loan totaling P21.672 billion, but Cusi cancelled a part of the ADB funding, scaling it down to P1.73 billion covering the 3,000 units which were already bid out to suppliers.
Cusi also committed to donate e-trike units to the cities of Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Pateros and Valenzuela.
“The DOE e-trike is a project that encourages the transition from oil to cleaner sources of energy,” Cusi said earlier.
“The 900 units to be given to the four cities will benefit many communities, in terms of livelihood and the services that it can provide to the people,” Cusi said.
Las Piñas will receive 100 e-trike units; Muntinlupa, 150 units; Pateros, 400 units; and Valenzuela, 250 units.