The Energy Department has donated 200 energy-efficient electric tricycles funded by a loan from the Asian Development Bank to the local government units of Marawi as part of its efforts to help rebuild the city.
The donation will be made through the Task Force Bangon Marawi with a memorandum of understanding to facilitate the turnover of the e-trikes.
A total of 3,000 e-trikes will be rolled out until June this year is key cities and municipalities. Funding from the e-trikes came from the ADB loan that was scaled down to P1.73 billion from the original project cost of P21.672 billion, which covers 100,000 e-trike units.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and TFBM Chairperson and Secretary Eduardo del Rosario signed the memorandum on Friday. The vehicles are expected to help displaced and affected residents in their livelihood and daily movement.
The e-trikes donation comes as Marawi City is rebuilding after the end of a five-month siege to retake it from terrorists that resulted in more than P17 billion in property damage and opportunities lost.
“Under President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s directive not just to rebuild, but to rebuild better, the DOE is among the many government agencies working very hard with Task Force Bangon Marawi for this tremendous cause,” said Cusi.
“More than having energy-efficient transportation, the DOE e-trikes for Marawi will provide livelihood to its beneficiaries and jumpstart economic activities in the area,” he said.
The e-trike can be charged at home through common electrical outlets, and the local government units of Marawi shall oversee identifying the recipients of the donation.
The DEO, with the help of the stakeholders in Marawi and Mindanao, is also expediting the building of charging stations to maintain and increase durability of these energy efficient vehicles.
“The DOE will continue to uphold its mandate in providing secure, reliable and sustainable energy to spur sustained growth with inclusivity,” Cusi said.
The department is the implementing agency of the Market Transformation through Introduction of Energy-Efficient Electric Vehicles Project or the Electric Vehicle Project, and is currently deploying the same.
Cusi said some of the e-trikes will donated to the military and police to be used inside their camps.
TFBM, which was established under Administrative Order No. 3 issued by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on June 28, 2017, is a group of different government agencies tasked to facilitate the rehabilitation, recovery and reconstruction of Marawi City.
The mandate of the Task Force is to develop and implement a comprehensive rehabilitation and recovery program based on a post-conflict needs assessment.