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DOTr, DOE agree on terms to ban diesel cars this year

Could implement prohibition of oil-burners by third quarter

Say goodbye to your diesel vehicle later this year. PHOTO BY VERNON B. SARNE

The Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy will announce this week plans to phase out diesel-engined vehicles in the Philippines starting this year, an official of one of the government agencies told VISOR, requesting anonymity. According to our source, the move is a drastic but necessary response to a global trend banning diesel vehicles for their adverse effects not only on the environment but also on humans. The prohibition could take effect as early as the third quarter of 2018, our informant said.

The country’s top transport and environment experts apparently have spent the past four months hashing out the terms of the ban, with government subsidies possibly being extended to those who will voluntarily turn over their diesel vehicles within a prescribed early-bird period.

Asked how DOTr and DOE intend to deal with the public outrage that’s sure to ensue over the removal of hundreds of thousands of diesel cars from our roads, our source quoted the World Health Organization‘s 2012 findings that officially classified diesel exhaust as carcinogenic. “We certainly anticipate massive protests to be held around the country, but it is our hope that people will soon realize the life-and-death gravity of the situation,” the official said. “If you owned a diesel car and you found out its emissions could cause cancer in your loved ones, wouldn’t you voluntarily get rid of it?”

If you owned a diesel car and you found out its emissions could cause cancer in your loved ones, wouldn’t you get rid of it?

This news comes on the heels of European countries starting to either regulate or completely ban diesel vehicles. Japanese automaker Toyota revealed last month that it was already ceasing the distribution of diesel models on the continent beginning this year.

“Imagine, Europe already has far more stringent Euro 6 emission standards, and yet they find the need to ban diesel due to its harmful effects on both people and the environment,” our source pointed out. “How much more in the Philippines, where emission regulations are still based on Euro 4 standards? Honestly, our country has become a dumping ground for automakers that want to dispose of diesel-powered units that they can no longer sell in other markets. And we’re the ones doomed to inhale their toxic fumes.”

And just because it’s April Fools’ Day today, be a sport and share this ‘news’ with your friends.



Vernon B. Sarne

Vernon is the founder and editor-in-chief of VISOR. He has been an automotive journalist since July 1995. He became one by serendipity, walking into the office of a small publishing company and applying for a position he had no idea was for a local car magazine. God has watched over him throughout his humble journey. He writes the ‘Spoiler’ column.



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