Jeepney may shift to new LPG engine, says group

The Philippine jeepney, a basic mode of transportation in the country and the largest market for diesel fuel, may likely shift to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) after a study launched Monday, called "Love the Air, Save the Planet," is completed. Gates Ambient Hi-Technology Systems Inc., a supplier of LPG kits, is spearheading the study that will look into the economic viability, environmental soundness, health impact, and social acceptability of a jeepney that runs on a brand-new, Euro-3 rated, LPG-fuel engine from Japan. Cielo Fregil, Gates Ambient’s managing director, said in a statement the study will be done in collaboration with the Philippine Automotive Depot Inc., Miriam ESI, Citizens Organization Concerned with Advocating Philippine Environmental Sustainability (COCAP), Partnership for Clean Air (PCA), and Clean Air Initiatives Asia. The study would last more than three months to cover all possible factors as extensively as possible, according to the statement. Love the Air, Save the Planet was launched at the Environmental Studies Institute of Miriam College in Quezon City. "We foresee that a huge portion of the market for diesel consumed by the public jeepney sector would shift to LPG as soon as we are done with the validation of the study because of its much needed and desired economic and environmental benefits that all sectors of society have been wanting for so long," Fregil said. The shift would be something like the shift done by Philippine taxi operators, she said. Diesel is now selling at P41.50 per liter, compared with LPG at P28 a liter, according to Gates Ambient’s managing director. In mileage terms, an LPG engine runs longer by an estimated 6-7 kilometers , compared with 4-5 kms of a diesel engine, according to Gates Ambient. LPG is known to have better and more desirable emission than diesel, especially when combusted by a brand-new, direct-fuel-injection engine, said Rene Pineda Jr., president of COCAP and PCA. "We, in the environmental movement, are so critical about emission standards and the flagrant violation thereof because of the worsening air pollution level that has already breached by more than 200 percent the ‘livable’ threshold," Pineda said. — VS, GMA News