THE government's policy of phasing out two-stroke motorcycles by 2010 has alarmed the tricycle industry in Iloilo City, an official of a tricycle group said.

Reynaldo Beso, president of the Metro Iloilo City Federation of Tricycle Drivers and Owners Association, said the phase out will definitely affect the livelihood of the sector and will put them at risk and added burden to the government if they could not find a solution to the problem now.

The phase out is in compliance with the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 8749 or the Clean Air Act of 1999, the "Act of providing for a comprehensive air pollution control policy and other purposes" in the country.

The industry accounts for more than 10,000 registered motorcycles used in the livelihood of more than 15,000 tricycle drivers and owners.

Beso said they want to comply with provisions of the 10-year-old law but they are also asking the government to provide them with technical training assistance so that they can convert their two-stroke engines into four-stroke, which is allowable under the clean air law.

Two-stroke motorcycles were identified as heavy smoke belching units that pollute the air and endanger people and plants.

Beso said the Road Users' Tax mandated a 7.5 percent allocation for road transport pollution control programs like the current Special Vehicle Pollution Control Fund (SPVCF) with the Department of Transportation and Communications.

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

The group said a brand new unit of four-stroke motorcycle costs more than P80,000 while a two-stroke is only some P30,000.

He said their federation could help subsidize the purchase of only few four-stroke motorcycle units to be used in their franchised route. The owners and drivers could hardly afford to buy a new unit, Beso said.