In spite of the best efforts of many Filipino locals, all their best-laid plans end up falling short when seen from the overall perspective that unfortunately includes a city covered in grime. The greatest polluter by far is the diesel engine that powers ninety-nine percent of buses and Jeepneys in the metropolis. And unlike the United States for example, diesel fuel in the Philippines is much cheaper than regular or unleaded gasoline. Thus it is the fuel of choice for bus and jeepney operators as well as businesses that own fleet vehicles.
We believe this subsidy has to end. An environmental tax should be tacked-on to diesel engines and diesel fuel sales to pay for the cost of cleaning up the pollution these engines create. A high enough per-liter price will remove the price advantage diesels have and dissuade most businesses from using them. At the same time, the government should offer generous tax and other incentives for new, environmentally friendly, automotive technologies such as hybrid, fuel-cell, electric, and even the new cleaner-running diesel engine. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency-initiated, clean diesel program will require auto manufacturers to offer the new clean-running diesel engines starting 2007. These new engines cut pollution by 95% compared to old diesel engines such as those that currently ply Metro Manila's smog-laden roads.
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Tell the members of
the Philippine Senate
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ou know you've arrived in
the Philippines when that hot humid blast of air hits you in the face as
you walk out the aircraft onto the jetway. But it is when you ride or
drive on Manila's roads during daytime that it's impact really hits you.
Grime
is everywhere. It's as if a patina of gray-brown soot had been sprayed
over all of Manila. Buildings look dirty, trees look dirty, street and
business signage looks dirty. For many visiting Filipinos, it is both an
embarrassment as well as a cause for concern. A far cry indeed from
gleaming buildings back-dropped by the clear blue sky of the foreign countries they
reside in.
What
users of diesel fuel don't realize is that the rest of the Filipino
people are subsidizing their indulgence in this cheap dirty fuel. From a
city covered in grime, to the high incidence of respiratory
ailments, each and every Filipino living in Metro
Manila is paying--in one way or another--for the right of diesel users to buy
the cheap fuel and pollute with impunity.
