The Ambassador of Mexico to the Philippines visited the country's capital city and paid a courtesy visit to Manila Mayor Maria Sheile "Honey" Lacuna- Pangan on Tuesday, August 2 to talk about the rich history of the two nations and discuss solutions to issues and social problems that the two countries have in common.
Ambassador Gerardo Lozano Arredondo went to the City Hall to meet with Lacuna and shared about the 50th anniversary of the sisterhood between Manila and the city of Acapulco in Mexico.
He expressed hope that the Philippines will forge more sisterhood ties with other cities in Mexico.
The ambassador and Lacuna discussed the solutions Mexico has made to mitigate some of its social crises especially its traffic and transportation woes.
"We shared our challenges in terms of mobility, security, management of garbage, and there are some area that are challenging but those areas can be a window of opportunity," Arredondo said.
"We can make time to share experiences and best practices," he added.
Lacuna shared with the ambassador how Manila is slowly implementing the use of electronic vehicles like e-trikes (for use within the city) and e-bus (for transport to different cities).
The move aims to help mitigate the growing pollution problem, not just in the country, but in the whole world, as well as increase the number of public transportation vehicles in Metro Manila for the growing number of people who are commuting.
On February 15, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) pushed for the use of electric vehicles, citing the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The country's commitment to the Paris Agreement includes cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 75 percent by 2030.
To meet the Paris Agreement targets, emissions from the transport sector must peak around 2020 and fall nine percent by 2030.
If powered by renewable energy, electric vehicles can play an important role in helping to reach this target, while helping to catalyze economic and health benefits along the way.
The Philippine government has been promoting the use of electric vehicles across the country, including as a form of public transportation.
There are currently 28 firms engaged in the manufacturing of various electric vehicles.