Completed TPLEX opening soon; New Wigo here

Before the month ends, travel will become faster than usual going up north from Metro Manila with the opening of the Pozorrubio, Pangasinan, to rosario, La Union, TPLEX stretch.

The 11.45-kilometer stretch completes the TPLEX (Tarlac-pangasinan-la Union Expressway), a billion-peso highway built by Ramon S. Ang, the president-ceo of San Miguel Corp.

Developed to ease traffic, make every trip comfortable and speed up travel to the country’s summer capital that is Baguio, the 89.3-kilometer road wonder stretches from Balintawak to La Union.

Tim Orbos, the Transportation undersecretary, said he couldn’t wait to negotiate the Balintawak-to-baguio span, saying: “This time, I can cover it in probably two hours and 45 minutes from the usual three-anda-half hour trip.”

Why not? From Tarlac alone up to Rosario would now take only an hour from the usual 2.5 hours.

Mayor Ed’s 3 Bs

ED PAMINTUAN, the jolly former mayor of Angeles City, exclaimed: “And so, I could now motor up to Baguio from Clark in just two hours! Baguio, here I come!”

An avid outdoorsman who loves exploring the country by manning the wheel of his own muscle himself, Mayor Ed boasted of negotiating recently the 40-km plus Clark-to-subic expressway in just about 35 minutes.

“I was doing 120 kph!” said Mayor Ed, whose love of the Three Bs is legend: Beatles, Beach Boys and Balvenie (make that Triple Cask 18). “But I won’t drive that fast again. never!”

This early, even as the Rosario, La Union, TPLEX exit is yet to be unfurled, Ang—fondly called RSA by his friends and admirers alike— is planning to extend the TPLEX all the way to Laoag, Ilocandia’s major city alongside the historic metropolis of Vigan.

Once that plan is realized, hopes for a sustained commercial boom will surge in “Ilokoslovakia,” where economic activity is sure to spike up all the more with unabated infrastructure development.

Hasn’t Rene So, the indefatigable owner of multiple Toyota dealerships up north (Dagupan, Baguio and San

Fernando, La Union) just opened a Toyota branch in Laoag City?

Suddenly, Honda in nearby San nicolas has got company.

Historic Wigo launch for Okamoto-san

THE launch last week of Toyota’s new Wigo has made a dramatic impact on the life of Atsuhiro Okamoto as it was his first major vehicle event since he assumed the presidency of the Toyota Motor Philippines just before Covid-19 struck the world. Read his speech and soak up on his feelings:

“To our media friends, partners, and dealers, thank you for joining us for yet another Toyota Milestone.

“I hope everyone joining us today is healthy and doing well.

“We all know that life in general has been drastically changed over the past few months. And like many companies, Toyota Motor Philippines is one with the country in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We are glad that despite our own difficulties, TMP, TMP Foundation, the Toyota dealer network, and even our Team Members have been able to provide valuable assistance through various CSR projects, to our healthcare workers, frontliners, and to the communities where our manufacturing plant and dealerships are located.

“Team Toyota’s bayanihan spirit is something I am truly proud of.

“Of course, we also extended assistance to our customers in order to help them cope with these difficult times. This pandemic has physically confined us and has forced everyone to change the way we do things and adapt to the ‘new normal.’

“Today, we are more than ready to embrace innovations in the digital world, and prove that even in crisis, we can still move forward and drive towards a better future.

“Today, I am happy to celebrate a new milestone with all of you—the official launch of the new Toyota Wigo. “I must say that my first car launch as TMP President is quite an extraordinary experience. As we adapt to the new normal, we bring you TMP’S very first official interactive digital vehicle launch.

“In the past, we can only gather a small number of guests to witness our event, but now in cyberspace, we are able to reach hundreds of thousands of people in the country to witness the unveiling of Toyota’s most loved entry-level passenger car—the Toyota Wigo.

“As it appeals to a broad spectrum of customers, the Toyota Wigo enjoys a market share of 69 percent in the low-cost passenger car segment as of the end of 2019. It has been the car of choice for young professionals, young couples just starting a family, and even university students.

“The new Wigo remains an iconic car that offers the same familiar feeling of practicality and reliability; but made:

More advanced;

More convenient and safe;

And more fun with its sleek and sporty TRD Styling

“Let me not keep you further with much suspense.

“Ladies and gentlemen… Introducing the Philippines’s best-selling entry-level hatchback: The new Toyota Wigo! Go for It!”

It comes at very affordable prices: TRD variant at only P700k, G AT P658k, G MT P623k and E MT P568k. PEE STOP Smc-petron’s fuel assistance to the government’s “Libreng Sakay” program for vehicles used by frontliners in the fight against Covid-19 ended in flying colors on June 15, with fuel donation amounting to nearly P10 million. This is on top of some P11 million in free toll from SMC for frontliners that used Slex, Star, naiax and TPLEX. Cheers!