By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

THE COUNTRY’S first electricity-powered jeepneys (e-Jeepneys) rolled down Makati City on July 4 in an official test drive.

The 10 to 12-seater e-Jeepneys were developed by Greenpeace and the Makati City government and financed by the Green Renewable Independent Power Producer Inc (GRIPP), in an effort to encourage the use of alternative fuels as well as reduce the effects of greenhouse gases on climate change.

US-based firm Solar Electric Company designed the engine, which were put in ordinary jeeps that usually ply the country’s streets.

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THE DEPARTMENT of Science and Technology, together with the Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), is developing the country’s first electric vehicle (EV) for mass transportation.

Leading the development of the EV is engineer Romeo Marave, who owns the rights to a prototype EV. He is being assisted by the DOST-Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research Development (PCIERD), the MIT School of Mechanical Engineering and several PEZA-accredited private firms, including an organization of motor car battery companies and a group that makes motoring parts.

In an interview, DOST-PCIERD Deputy Director Raul Sabularse said the EV project entered by the three agencies will focus more on improving the engine earlier developed by Marave.

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