Let’s build real Filipino cars

IF WE l ook back i nto our automotive history, we will remember t hat we already built two Filipino cars, namely the Sakbayan and the Tamaraw, but we never did recognize them as real Filipino cars because their engines were imported and foreign made.

M e a n w h i l e , M a l a y s i a proceeded to build their Proton cars using Mazda engines, and nobody complained when they presented these as “Malaysian” cars.

Fast forward to today, the trend is going towards electric vehicles, therefore gasoline and diesel engines are no longer needed to build new automobiles.

I remember that way back, some skeptics argued that we could not build Filipino cars because we cannot build t he engines. We should have done what the Malaysians did – use f oreign engines, but t hat i s irrelevant now.

As Filipinos, we no longer have to prove that we could build good car and truck bodies, because we have done that already. Since by now, building engines is no longer a challenge, all we have to do now is to build the electric motors that would be suitable to fit into our locally made car and truck bodies.

Who s hould l ead us i nto this noble venture? Should i t be the Department of Science and Technology ( DOST)? The Department of Trade and Industry ( DTI) ? The Depar t ment o f Transportation (DOTr)? Or perhaps the Department of Energy (DOE)?

As I see it, this can be a joint effort by all of these agencies, possibly even led by the Department of Finance (DOF) because all projects are challenged by financing.

Meanwhile, Toyota is reported to be reviving the Tamaraw, and that’s okay too.

GOOD GOVERNANCE GROUP

I am starting a new group in Facebook Messenger. It’s called “Good Governance Group” or 3G for short.

My idea is very simple. It is going to be a meeting place of non- government organizations ( NGOs), central government agencies( CGAs) and local government units ( LGUs). I have coined CGAs as a new acronym that will not sound like LGUs.

By meeting place, I mean that it is going to be the apex of cooperation for the three sides to meet together and work together on real programs that will solve real development needs, mostly leading to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs).

We are going to distinguish between programs and projects. The programs will be the legal basis for creating the projects. No projects should be started if it is not part of a program. The programs will be pre- approved and funded by the provincial boards or the municipal councils.

I am hoping that the NGOs will play a key role in developing and implementing programs and projects, by regularly attending the meetings of the provincial boards and the municipal councils.

Actually, the laws provide for these NGOs to attend these meetings, often with mandated roles. Local officials of the CGAs should also attend these meetings. Hopefully, the same officials could attend all the meetings so that t heir participation would be consistent and sustainable. Find us in Facebook and join us./