Just recently, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. or Campi celebrated 20 years of growth of the auto industry. It cited among others, an impressive achievement of selling in 2014 a total of 234,747 units of cars and trucks for a 30-percent growth compared to 2013. For 2015, it says selling 300,000 is within its market growth projections.
An important economic driver
The continuing increase in passenger car sales is cited as an indication that the country has entered the motorization stage. This has transformed the automotive industry to becoming an important economic driver which is noted to have a “multiplier effect of 3.4 percent and higher investments of up to 2.2 percent share in the GDP.”
Campi has a laudable vision of being a socially responsible association in partnership with government and other stakeholders for the country’s economic growth through a viable auto industry. Its mission cites, among others, contribution to investments and government revenue generation, employment creation, skills development, technology transfer, environment protection and safety promotion.
Address pressing issues
The foregoing are indeed things that the auto industry can be proud of. But what it has been quiet about and which we believe it should be addressing are the pressing issues on traffic management; the quality of life of motorists subjected to extreme vehicle congestion daily, especially in the metropolis; the contribution to pollution as well as the inefficient fuel consumption as a result of the traffic gridlock.
Growing metropolis in the country like Metro Manila and Metro Cebu are slowly coming into a stand still due to the volume of motor vehicles within its boundaries. In Metro Manila alone, with a land area of a little over 650 square kilometers can be found around 40 percent of the country’s motor vehicles.
It has been reported that the country losses an estimated P180 billion annually due to traffic congestion. That is indeed a huge amount and a big problem which the government alone is very hard pressed to solve.
The need to step up
Considering that Campi’s output directly contributes to this onerous situation, it needs to step up and actively partner with government and other stakeholders to help address this very pressing problem. It cannot just focus on the supply side but also need to contribute to alleviating the traffic malady the metropolis is faced with.
If Campi will be able to do this, it will further its stature as a socially responsible association that contributes to the enhancement of society’s quality of life.
Dr. Berino is an Associate Professional Lecturer under the Decision Sciences and Innovation Department of the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University (DLSU). He can be reached at [email protected].
The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.