PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Sunday said Toyota Motor Corp.’s P5.5-billion investment to build the next generation Tamaraw utility vehicle in the country would spur more jobs for Filipinos and support and provide reliable service cars for vehicle for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“With a P5.5-billion investment, the next-generation Tamaraw is being built right here in the Philippines, by Filipinos, for Filipinos,” he said in a Facebook post. “This will bring more jobs, stronger support for our small businesses, and a dependable partner on the road for daily commuters.”
In his visit to Japan in December, Mr. Marcos secured a P1.1-billion investment pledge from Toyota Executive Vice-President Yoichi Miyazaki, which added to the car maker’s previous P4.4-billion commitment made in August last year.
Toyota also earlier committed to donate five ambulance versions of the new Tamaraw vehicle to the First Lady’s Lab for All medical services for poor Filipinos.
Rommel R. Gutierrez earlier said that the new Tamaraw light commercial vehicle is part of the company’s bid to provide local businesses, especially MSMEs with a reliable workhorse for their operations.
He told reporters last year that the new vehicle line aims to meet the demand for a “more suitable and affordable option for Filipino entrepreneurs.”
At the presentation of the new Tamaraw vehicle line and Toyota’s hydrogen vehicle technology, Mr. Marcos backed the push for greener forms of transportation through state-of-the-art electric vehicles.
“We have the new Tamaraw which has again been redesigned for the modern environment,” the Philippine President said in his speech at the event on Oct. 25 “And with all of the new technologies that Toyota has developed, incorporated into a design that is specifically made for the Philippine condition.” — John Victor D. Ordoñez
