By Alithea De Jesus
Amid the availability of ride hailing, transport network vehicle service, taxi and other mobility solutions, the volume of commuters from across all strata remains an issue that continue to seek for long term and sustainable solution.
Mindful of this lingering problem in mobility and available transportation system to the riding public, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista shared the department’s vision and plans for transforming and improving the transportation infrastructure in the Philippines.
Speaking at the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) Luncheon Forum in partnership with Lufthansa Technik Philippines held at Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati on October 26.
“We are pushing for non-specific thematic initiatives that are all-encompassing across the different sectors”, Bautista said.
This includes the existing 20 thematic initiatives are reducing logistics cost, create transport jobs, transport safety and security, carbon neutrality, disaster resilience, gender equality, disability and social inclusion, among others. Other critical initiatives that we now regard as advocacies are digitalization, electric vehicles, institutional strengthening & rightsizing, and more,” Bautista added.
Also discussed was the potential partnerships between Philippines and Germany in the transportation sector. Those who attended the luncheon was German Ambassador to the Philippines, His Excellency, Andreas Pfaffernoschke, GPCCI President Stefan Schmitz, their Board of Directors, and Executive Director Christopher Zimmer.
In the panel discussion with DOTr Secretary Bautista and Lufthansa Technik Philippines President and CEO, Elmar Lutter, it tackled the potential opportunities for partnerships with German-Philippine businesses and participants’ inquiries regarding the transportation sector, its plans, and possibilities for growth and collaboration.
“We are glad to have hosted this important dialogue for German businesses in the Philippines”, says GPCCI Executive Director Christopher Zimmer. “With all the plans and prospects of the current administration for the Philippine Transportation landscape, we see immense opportunities for German business to tap into and contribute to positive economic impact to the overall mobility of goods and services in the country.”
Finally, the event ended with an invitation from Secretary Bautista for German businesses and government to explore the Department of Transportation’s projects and initiatives and promoted the possibility of public-private partnerships aimed at improving and growing the Philippines’s transportation system and sector.
