Manila | August 2025 — At the Congressional Budget Hearing, the mask finally slipped. The Department of Trade and Industry’s own Undersecretary said it loud and clear: there is no budget to support local manufacturers of modernized jeepneys.
Read that again. No budget. No plan. No priority.
❌ Betrayal in Broad Daylight
For years, local manufacturers like Francisco Motors have carried the weight of modernization on their shoulders. For nearly eight decades, the jeepney has been the cultural and economic backbone of Philippine transport. Yet at the very moment government funds are being carved up, the same local innovators are cast aside.
Instead, foreign companies—flush with capital and protected by international backers—stand ready to scoop up taxpayer-funded incentives. Filipino ingenuity? Left to dry.
❓ The Hard Questions Nobody Wants to Answer
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Who really writes the rules?
– Are the guidelines for the RACE Program being quietly drafted in favor of foreign truck manufacturers, just like the Philippine National Standard (PNS) for modern jeepneys was before? -
Why are we paying foreigners to replace us?
– Why should Filipino taxpayers subsidize global multinationals while their own countrymen—pioneers who never left—are denied the same access to programs? -
What happens when the foreigners pack up?
– They always do. History proves it. When greener pastures open in neighboring countries, foreign firms jump ship. And when they do, the Philippines is back to zero.
Francisco Motors’ Answer: Go Global
Enough is enough. Francisco Motors has already chosen a different road:
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Texas manufacturing hub with EV and hydrogen incentives.
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California R&D center powered by world-class scientists and engineers.
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Thailand motorcycle production for ASEAN.
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China EV tricycle & PINOY Transporter support with zero-tariff exports to the Philippines.
And yes, the company is thriving—because in these countries, governments don’t just talk about supporting innovation, they fund it.
Chairman Elmer Francisco put it bluntly:
“We will not force ourselves into an environment that makes it unnecessarily hard for local manufacturers to survive. When our government is ready to support us with actions—not just words—we will be here. Until then, our vehicles will be built in places where innovation is valued, but their soul will always be Filipino.”
The Real Issue
The Undersecretary’s statement isn’t just a policy gap—it’s a betrayal of Filipino ingenuity. It exposes the lie that modernization is being done “for the people.” What good is a modernization program if it strips away local identity, funnels taxpayer money to foreign giants, and sidelines the very industry that gave birth to the jeepney?
This isn’t modernization. It’s erasure.
✊ Final Word
Filipino workers, operators, and manufacturers deserve better. The jeepney is not just transport—it is culture, livelihood, and survival. And yet, with one sentence, the government declared it had no budget for its own people.
Francisco Motors will continue building—globally if it must. But the question now stares every policymaker in the face:
Will the Philippines finally support its own, or will it sell out its soul—again?
