It makes sense!

The disorganized presence of too many buses and other public utility vehicles in the metro has been seen as one of the main causes of our daily traffic woes. And it makes sense that whoever is tasked to manage traffic in Metro Manila must have the mandate to regulate what kind and how many vehicles should be allowed to ply its roads to provide public transport.  

Senator Ralph Recto may have hit the proverbial nail by the head when he proposed that the MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) should have a say in the franchising of public utility vehicles in its area of responsibility. After all the hard-working MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino gets all the flak whenever traffic doesn’t move in the metro, therefore it’s only fair that he has full control of traffic, from where and how it should flow up to what should be allowed to go with the flow. But then, he solely sinks or swims with his mandated authority.

When the Erap-Isko tandem of the City of Manila exercised their firm political will in decongesting its city streets by banning buses that do not have business running within its jurisdiction, immediate success was visibly seen. It was met with great opposition though from commuters that suddenly found them having to walk some distance to their destinations or to the next ride that they needed to take but the greater part of the City of Manila heaved a sigh of relief from the daily way of life of bumper-to-bumper travel. There were also loud howl of protests from bus operators reportedly mostly from colorums who have been suddenly unmasked by the traffic measure.      

Burdened with all the opposition but emboldened by the positive effect of their radical solution to decongest their city, the Erap-Isko tandem gallantly challenged their detractors to bring them to court.

But then, the solution cannot be parochial to be more effective. As seen in the early days of implementing the bus ban in Manila and perhaps up to the present, the neighboring Metro Manila jurisdictions are having traffic problems in their boundaries with the City of Manila, considering that they are not similarly implementing the same measure.  

I guess that’s the rationale of Senator Ralph in proposing that the MMDA, being the mandated traffic managers of Metro Manila should have a firm say in the issuance of public transportation franchises. That’ll be a big start in discouraging parochial solutions.

But then such proposal would definitely start a turf war between the MMDA and the LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board), which has the sole power to issue public transport franchises and likewise to cancel them. But then it appears that they are not cut out for the job considering that many illegal vehicles are wantonly operating, and it seems not only in the metro but in the entire country as well. 

I guess this Senator Recto-inspired move would need some kind of legislation in order to have it implemented, so why not?   

25 years of Toyota Motor Philippines

Many local auto industry leaders were present last Thursday, August 1 when Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) celebrated its 25 years of meaningful existence in the country, not only in providing safe, reliable and affordable means of transport for Filipinos from different economic strata but also for its numerous corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities involving health, education, environment and community service.

The highlight of the occasion, which had no less than Senate President Frank Drilon as Guest of Honor, was TMP’s announcement of a donation of Twenty Five million pesos to the Toyota Motor Philippines Foundation, an appropriation for the establishment and operation of Toyota Motor Philippines School of Technology or TMP Tech.

With its operations starting in September this year, TMP Tech aims to produce highly-skilled Filipino workers to ensure the availability of automotive technicians to serve Toyota’s local and global network. TMP views the establishment of the school as a significant step towards its dream to make the Philippines a Human Resource Development hub for Global Toyota.

TMP Tech is a non-stock and non-profit educational institution founded by Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, Honorary Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation (Japan) and Dr. George S.K. Ty, Chairman of Toyota Motor Philippines. Its incorporators include Mr. Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corporation (Japan), Mr. Alfred Ty, vice chairman, TMP, Mr. Tatsuo Yasunaga, director, TMP and managing officer, Mitsui & Co. Limited, Dr. David Go, senior evp, TMP and Mr. Aniceto Sobrepena, president, Metro Bank Foundation.

The philosophy behind the establishment of the school is the desire of TMP chairman, Dr. George S.K. Ty to show gratitude and appreciation to Toyota Motor Corporation (Japan), for a successful partnership for over 25 years and to the Philippines  for the many opportunities that led him to where he is today. TMP Tech is one of the TMP chairman’s ways of giving back to society.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP) is an automotive manufacturing company incorporated in August 3, 1988 as a joint venture of the following business entities; GT Capital Holdings, Inc. (Ty family) with 51%, Toyota Motor Corporation (Japan) with 34% and Mitsui & Company Limited with 15%. It is the largest automotive company in the country that has 42,000 employees (as of December 2012) with a sales distribution and service network composed of 36 outlets nationwide.

TMP first established its dominant position in the local auto industry on its 5th year of operations in 1993 and similarly in 1994 by registering its first two Triple Crowns—number 1 sales in passenger cars, commercial vehicles and total sales. The crown was lost during the years when the country reeled from the Asian currency crisis. And finally recovered it in 2002 and have never surrendered it since then—11 years in succession. Toyota’s locally-produced vehicles, the Vios and the Innova remain the highest-selling models in the country.

And what’s up ahead for TMP?

Looking forward, TMP is preparing all aspects of its operations as well as its entire value chain for the long-awaited motorization in the Philippines, “We are meeting this pent-up market demand by expanding our production capacity while strengthening our localization efforts together with our valued suppliers in order to maximize the benefits of domestic production. We are also beefing up our dealer network to reach our customers nationwide and we are upgrading our human resources to take our operations to greater heights,” proclaimed Mr. Michinobu Sugata, TMP president.

Congratulations to Toyota Motor Philippines—25 meaningful years in the country.

For sports car lovers—here’s the new Audi R8

Get hold of this—the new R8 V8 4.2 quattro is more advanced than ever, with new performance elements such as the new seven-speed S-tronic gearbox, which improves its acceleration from 0-100 kph in 4.3 seconds and continues to accelerate to its top speed of 300 kph. The R8’s V8 engine produces 430 hp but produces less CO2 emissions than its predecessor by 21 grams/km. The S-tronic transmission shifts gears within hundredths of a second and with virtually no interruption to tractive power. Now, if that’s not seamless gear-shifting, I don’t know what is.

Business tycoon Robert Coyiuto, Jr., one of the country’s riches according to the latest figures from Forbes Asia, again has a winner in his stable of top-of-the-line, multi-brand array of luxury automobiles under his enviable exclusive distributorship. 

Audi Philippines recently officially launched the new Audi R8 at Audi Global City during the premier of the much-awaited Marvel movie The Wolverine, where the sportscar’s remarkable performance was showcased.  

Be involved—report

Have you seen a motoring problem lately? Anything from an unfinished road project that pose some danger to motorists and pedestrians alike to non-working traffic lights, etc., or any similar situation left unattended for quite a while, all these need some immediate attention from the authorities. Or perhaps cases of wanton disregard for traffic rules or signs.

Don’t just watch and do nothing. You can report these to us via the TV show Motoring Today (Sunday, 12 noon, Solar Sports, Channel 70, Sky Cable) by sending pictures or videos of these motoring problems or flagrant violation of traffic laws with your celphones, which we shall in turn refer to the government agencies involve for appropriate action. All you have to do is “like” us on Motoring Today’s Face Book page and send your videos and pictures.

Happy Motoring!!!

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