Recent data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) show that every day, about 160 electric vehicles are sold in the country, giving this segment of the auto industry a seven percent share.

In Jan. 26, 2026 MB article by Dexter Barro, Electric Vehicles (EV) sales of CAMPI and TMA, which include hybrids, totaled, including non-member BYD Cars Philippines, which posted a whopping 446 percent surge in sales last year, reaching 26,122 units out of the almost 500,000 vehicles of all types sold in the country.

As fuel prices continue to fluctuate on the high end, I will expect EV sales to rise further, and more means of transport, including public mass transport, will be electric. A rise in electric vehicles means that dependence on foreign oil for fuel is expected to decrease in the coming years. Given the current energy mix and the drive to double the share of renewables in the country to 50 percent by 2040, it is likely that our EVs will be fueled by electricity from renewable, locally generated sources rather than imported fossil fuels like oil and coal.

The vital question is what these developments in electrifying our transport mean for the economy of Mindanao?

For Mindanao, some outcomes include the possibility that increasing the capacity of generation on the island will allow an export of excess energy to the Visayas and Luzon. This is because grid connectivity is also expected to broaden in the coming years. This will mean that Mindanao can and should produce more electricity and do it cheaply using renewable, indigenous sources. When you factor in an increase in Retail Electricity Supply programs for contestable customers and self-generation through rooftop solar panels, the pool of available power can increase further.

A second expected outcome is a lower cost of transport, since electric vehicles can charge lower fees, and may cost less to operate. Programs such as battery subscription can be explored to ensure EV buyers that when their batteries are due for replacement, a fresh, affordable battery can be obtained. Cheaper transport costs mean a lower cost of doing business and cost of living in the future.

Davao-based writer Aida Rivera-Ford will be lovingly remembered as a pillar of Mindanao’s literary scene and a passionate devotee to the arts that Mindanao and the world will continue to celebrate. Born in Sulu, she wrote stories in the post-colonial period, an interesting time of discovery when worldly sensibilities and literary forms meet indigenous or mixed perspectives seen in the nature and people of the island. She founded Mindanao’s first fine arts school and literary journals.

Many of us who view the world and write with the same pen and mind. The quiet, yet enduring power of legacy will bloom with more writers who will arise in her stead, and perfect their craft while bringing the rich diversity and growth of the island’s peoples to a larger audience. Her popular works are likely to impress a new, curious audience thirsting for perspectives in their view of the world.

Saying farewell to Aida Rivera Ford means welcoming the new crop of writers who will be formed by that legacy. They will love the world of books and immerse themselves in the shaping of verse and prose that will define this and the coming generations- a whole population facing the tumult and challenge of a complex world.