But City Hall assures gradual phase-out of 2-stroke tricycles

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

TRICYCLES with two-stroke engines will be gradually phased out from the roads of Iloilo City to avoid displacing drivers and operators, according to a City Hall official.

Noel Z. Hechanova, Iloilo City environment and natural resources officer, said RA 8749 mandates that two-stroke engines should be replaced with four-stroke engines which have cleaner emissions.

The phase-out is in compliance with Republic Act (RA) 8749 or the Clean Air Act of 1999.

“The problem with two-engines is its inefficient fuel combustion. These engines burn only 70% of its fuel while the remaining 30% ends up as smoke and particulates which are pollutants. We are inclined to implement the phase-out as the law requires but we are also concerned with the effects of this move on the livelihood of tricycle drivers,” Hechanova said.

Reynaldo Beso, president of the Metro Iloilo City Federation of Tricycle Drivers and Owners Association, said the phase out will affect an estimated 15,000 tricycle drivers and owners of 10,000 tricycle units.

“Some of the operators have yet to pay up for their tricycles. If two-stroke engines are phased out, a lot of us will lose our livelihood,” Beso added.

Hechanova said only 4,000 tricycles are registered with the Iloilo City Hall. He said the ban on two-stroke engines will affect around 24,000 to 30,000 drivers.

Hechanova said they have adopted several measures to help tricycle drivers such as retrofitting of their engines to improve fuel burn efficiency.

“But the prohibitive cost of the retrofitting kit which is P14,000 to P16,000 a piece discouraged the drivers who are still paying for their tricycle mortgage,” he said.

The city government also introduced LPG-run tricycles Mr. Hechanova said the drivers complained that the engine overheats most of the time.

“The most practical method is to retrofit the engines but the cost is still an issue. That’s why we encouraged drivers and owners to form a cooperative, borrow money from Land Bank of the Philippines or other government financial institutions so they can buy the retrofitting kit,” Hechanova added.

Beso said they are mulling to use part of the Road Users’ Tax to either retrofit or acquire 4-stroke engines for their members.

“In the Road Users’ Tax, some 7.5% is allocated for road transport pollution control programs like the current Special Vehicle Pollution Control Fund (SPVCF) of the Department of Transportation and Communications. We will see if we can use that fund,” Beso said.

Beso said the government could tap the road user’s fund to create a proposed TricyClean fund for the tricycle sector, which also contributes substantially to the fund.

Hechanova said they also plan to attach the phase out program to the Clean Air for Smaller Cities in the Asean Region of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and German Federal Agency for Technical Cooperation or GTZ.

He said GTZ is willing to provide technical aid to the tricycle drivers and the city government as regards the phase out of 2-stroke engines.

“It’s up to the tricycle groups to decide on what to do. They have committed during the conference with GTZ that they will police their own ranks and join in the phase out program,” Hechanova said.