E-trikes now at Sibulan town, but permits hit snag

CEBU, Philippines – Sibulan town in Negros Oriental had welcomed the arrival of E-trikes, energy-efficient and environment-friendly vehicles, in support of the Department of Energy’s market transformation to ensure energy security via sufficient and clean technologies.

However, the first deployment of more than 20 units of the e-trikes, manufactured by Racal company, hit a snag for failure of the operators to register these with the Land Transportation Office in Cebu, after legitimate tricycle operators raised some complaints against these vehicles.

Sibulan Mayor Emmanuel Diputado, initially issued mayor’s permits, thinking that the e-trike registration applicants were the same persons operating “trisikads” (locally known as “pot-pot”), but he found out later that they were already operating the Racal vehicles.

Diputado immediately recalled the mayor’s permit issued to them, holding their operation in abeyance until such time a certification is issued by LTO in Cebu as to their classification. He explained, no mayor would refuse issuance of a permit because this would be intended for the livelihood of the marginalized sector of the community.

Diputado recently said his office has already received a copy of the certification that classifies the e-trike as a public transport. As a result, this would require Racal, the manufacturer, to register these with the LTO.

While waiting for the registration, Diputado also required the drivers to secure a driver’s license while a local ordinance is expected to be proposed in the Municipal Council for the issuance of a local franchise.

Diputado believed that drivers and operators of e-trikes will have higher income, aside from the benefit of less air pollution because it uses only electricity from batteries, with savings of at least P250 of gasoline per day.

The mayor said whatever happened to the government’s plan of deploying 100,000 e-trikes nationwide to replace the same number of traditional gasoline-fed tricycles, the point is that it is now adopting the technology in his town of Sibulan.