Green-colored taxis rolled out of their garage in the reclamation area onto the busy streets of Cebu City last week. The Vietnamese invasion has begun.
Those are electric vehicles and there are reportedly 600 of them in Cebu, all built in Vietnam by a Vietnamese company known as VinFast. They are operated by a company known as Green and Smart Mobility Philippines, Inc., a local subsidiary of the Vietnamese company, Green and Smart Mobility (GSM).
That green is predominant in the name of the operator, and the color of the taxis and the uniforms of their drivers is not accidental. It is intended for branding and messaging: “we are protecting the environment.”
Whether the sales pitch was what convinced the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to grant Green GSM provisional authority to operate in Metro Cebu is something we still have to know.
That is not to disparage the government agency or the grantee but in a country whose government is known for dispensing special favors to special applicants, the reservation is par for the course.
In any case, the operators of the “traditional” white taxis are crying foul. The streets in Cebu are already choking, and if the government was determined to pursue the use of electric vehicles for electric public transport, why were they not granted the first crack and, more importantly, assistance?
But here’s the thing: if the government had told or even ordered them to electrify, would they have complied? Our experience with the jeepney modernization program is not encouraging. PUJ operators and drivers vehemently resisted the idea, and not even the government’s offer to help finance their acquisition of modern jeepneys could soften their stance.
Maybe the taxi operators are a different breed. They’ll probably accept government assistance. But can the government afford it? Note that in the 2026 budget, President Marcos vetoed items amounting to billions of pesos. Among the casualties in the belt tightening move was funding for the car manufacturing program.
The setback means retrogressing in the production of local vehicles so that the time we are finally able to make our own electric vehicles, they shall have already become obsolete.
Unlike us, Vietnam already has factories churning out electric cars. Eat your heart out.