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DOE donates 200 e-trikes to Marawi City
The Department of Erergy (DOE) donated on Friday 200 units of electric tricycles to the local government of Marawi City as part of government efforts to help rebuild the war-torn city.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and Task Force Bangon Marawi chairperson and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council Secretary Eduardo del Rosario signed the MOU.
“More than having an energy-efficient mode of transportation, the DOE e-trikes for Marawi will provide livelihood to its beneficiaries and jumpstart economic activities in the area,” Cusi said.
Del Rosario, for his part, said the e-trike units will be in line with the plan to create an environment-friendly hub in Marawi City’s central business district.
He added that the beneficiaries of the e-trike units will be identified by the local government of Marawi City.
Energy Assistant Secretary Bodie Pulido said the e-trikes will be delivered to the city by the end of February or early March.
Pulido said the e-trikes are part of the DOE’s Market Transformation initiative via the Introduction of Energy Efficient Electric Vehicles project.
The program is part of the P1.7-billion loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) covering 3,000 e-trikes that would be distributed nationwide.
The program originally covered 100,000 e-trikes as negotiated by the Aquino administration, but Cusi canceled 97,000 units due to issues of viability as the vehicle costs as much as P500,000 per unit.
Pulido said the DOE will likely donate the 3,000 e-trikes it the government fails to sell the units.
“After Marawi, we’re considering donating to Bohol and Tacloban and areas with tourism and historical significance ... Another is for LGUs that have healthy existing infrastructure,” Pulido said.
The DOE, with the help of stakeholders in Marawi, is now facilitating the establishment of charging stations to maintain and keep the energy-efficient e-trikes more durable, he said. — VDS, GMA News
