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A recent
news report indicated that some passenger buses serving
Metro Manila commuters traveling to Batangas and Laguna
would soon run on compressed natural gas, or CNG, a type
of fuel that is said to be cleaner and more
environment-friendly than other fossil-based fuels like
diesel and gasoline.
This is
under the government’s Natural Gas Vehicle Program for
Public Transport, which reportedly got the green light
finally, after several years of delay. If memory serves,
the program was initiated in the early part of the
Arroyo administration.
One CNG
station, by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., was even
put up along the South Luzon Expressway several years
back, but it was only recently that the station was
finally put into operation. CNG, compared with LPG or
liquefied petroleum gas, is said to be a denser or
“heavier” fuel, thus more appropriate for use by bigger
vehicles like buses and trucks, and even heavy
equipment. LPG, meanwhile, which is the same as the
typical cooking gas at home, is more appropriate for
lighter vehicles like cars and small SUVs.
Without
doubt, the extensive use of natural gases, either CNG or
LPG, by public transportation will help significantly
reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil, given
that a large natural-gas deposit is currently being
developed just off the coast of
Palawan in Malampaya. In addition, CNG and LPG use by motor vehicles
will also reduce carbon emissions in the environment.
To date,
a news report indicated, 22 CNG-fired buses are already
in the country and 200 more are expected to arrive
within six months. Meantime, a big number of taxis in
Metro Manila have already converted to LPG or Autogas.
Just imagine if all provincial buses can be converted to
CNG, and later all Metro Manila buses, while all taxis
and jeepneys are converted to LPG. And if tricycles can
also run on natural gas, better still. One can only
dream of a smog-free Metro Manila, but any significant
reduction in vehicle emissions now will surely be
welcomed by the public. CNG buses, LPG taxis, and the
electricity-run MRT will be a good combination for Metro
Manila’s environment.
Under
the government’s natural-gas vehicle program, CNG will
reportedly be sold at P14.52 a cubic meter for seven
years, and Shell’s CNG will reportedly be exclusively
sold to buses accredited by the Department of Energy.
And these buses will be plying initially the Laguna-Cubao-Lawton
and Batangas-Cubao-Lawton routes under a seven-year
pilot program.
In
fairness to Shell, the exclusivity is necessary given
its significant investment, along with other partners,
in the extraction of CNG from the Malampaya, which is
piped to a mother station in Batangas, and then
transported to the refueling station along the
northbound lane of the South Luzon Expressway in the
area of Biñan, Laguna.
Under
the government program, special tax and nontax
incentives and other perks are given to transport
companies that convert to natural gas. To date, the
Energy department has reportedly accredited seven bus
operators that have committed to buy CNG buses before
year’s end.
My only
concern with this initiative is that in light of the
recent Glorietta blast, there is always the question of
strict implementation of safety protocols to protect the
commuting public. For, unlike diesel and gasoline,
natural gas appears to be riskier and more volatile to
handle. Also, natural-gas leaks can reportedly result
not only in blasts but also in respiratory harm.
About
four months ago, a news report indicated that the
Department of Health would look into the alleged surge
in diseases and other health hazards linked to the
growing use of LPG, particularly by taxis. While LPG as
motor-vehicle fuel is a mature technology extensively
used worldwide, one cannot help but be apprehensive at
times, considering urban tales of exploding cabs and
sickly drivers.
Health
Secretary Francisco Duque III was quoted as saying his
office had received “reports of drivers of LPG-fueled
public vehicles suffering from difficulty in breathing
and skin allergy, but all of these are still
speculative.” He was also quoted as saying that the
Health department has already sought the assistance of
public-transportation regulators on the matter.
Duque
was also quoted as saying that “if proved that the use
of LPG in utility vehicles poses health risks, we would
make a recommendation to immediately stop the use of
such technology.”
That was
four months ago, or sometime in June, and now CNG buses
are also about to serve the public. Meantime, where is
the study on whether LPG-fueled vehicles are health
hazards?
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