DAVAO City–Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said here over the weekend that public diplomacy is needed to spell popular support for the “politically challenging” plan of the Duterte administration to modernize some 220,000 public utility jeepneys (PUJs) across the country, as part of government efforts to provide a safer transport system for commuters while mitigating the effects of climate change.

Dominguez said the government must carry out this difficult task of convincing PUJ drivers and operators as well as the riding public that the “well-loved” Philippine jeepney has become an “inefficient dinosaur” that “must now be relegated to the museum” and replaced with a cleaner, healthier, safer and more fuel-efficient means of everyday transport for the country’s “bedraggled” commuters.

He recalled that in the past, there have been several attempts to modernize the country’s public transport system, among them, a plan by the Development Bank of the Philippines 10 years ago to replace passenger buses plying EDSA with new ones running on liquefied natural gas. But as in all the other previous efforts, the plan, although financially feasible for the bus companies, was met with resistance.

“Today we embark on something more ambitious and politically challenging. We will try to replace 220,000 aging and inefficient jeepneys nationwide with new vehicles. The replacement vehicles will help clear the air literally, make commuting safer for the public and contribute to a more rational public transport system,” said Dominguez at the signing here of the Memorandum of Understanding on the program to replace the country’s entire PUJ fleet.

The MOU was signed by Dominguez as Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) chairman and Secretary Arthur Tugade of the Department of Transportation (DOTr). The signing was witnessed by LandBank president Alex Buenventura and LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III.

According to Buenaventura, the LandBank has put up a P1 billion credit facility for the pilot project that will cover the replacement of an initial 650 PUJs at P1.4 million to P1.6 million per unit.

“There will be political resistance, no doubt, from those who do not wish change. We will have to conduct effective public diplomacy to raise the acceptance of this program. We must convince the jeepney drivers and operators that this is the way to go. They must understand the financing package will make the shift affordable,” Dominguez said.

“I am happy this Memorandum of Understanding being signed today and all the details for efficient implementation worked out by our transport and financing experts. I am honored to sign this document as chair of the LandBank. This is the sort of high-impact financing the Bank was born to do,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez said he was “confident the government agencies participating in this program have the political will to see this program through.”

“It will be an important contribution to fighting climate change. It will help decongest our exhausted roads. It will make commuting a more pleasant activity for our bedraggled commuters,” he said.

Dominguez said the three agencies primarily involved in the jeep modernization program—the DOF, DOTr, and LandBank—have pooled their talents and resources to realize the goal of bringing the country’s public transport system to the 21st century.

“Everywhere in the world, countries are looking into new transport modes to keep the air clean, move people efficiently and decongest the roads,” Dominguez noted.

As testament to the fact that the world is already moving towards a green transport system, Dominguez noted that electric carmaker Tesla is now almost the same market capitalization as General Motors.

“In a few short years, electric cars are expected to outsell conventional vehicles running on fossil fuel,” he said.