Makati City, Philippines – On April 5, 2018, the GIZ “Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Mitigation in the Land Transport Sector in the ASEAN Region” or Transport and Climate Change (TCC) Project together with Clean Air Asia (CAA) launched the study, “Green Freight and Logistics Policy Development in the Philippines: Assessing Freight Transportation in Support of a National Green Freight Programme”. The study recommends the establishment of a national programme with various measures to “green” the freight and logistics sector to boost the country’s logistics performance and economic growth while maintaining a healthy environment for all. The recommendations were based on an assessment of the sector through the review of relevant policies, stocktaking of various stakeholders and their roles, and analysis of surveys and consultations with trucking and freight forwarding companies.

The launching event began with the welcome remarks of Mr. Friedel Sehlleier, TCC’s Deputy Project Director, as he provided the rationale for this initiative and its importance to the Philippines’ sustainable economic growth. Afterwards, Ms. Pia May Agatep, co-author of the study together with Dr. Jane Romero, presented the highlights of the study to the attendees of the launch which include national government agencies, local government units, civil society organisations, and the private sector. Mr. Mark Richmund de Leon, Assistant Secretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), delivered a response message to acknowledge the results of the study and declare the Philippine government’s commitment to improve the freight and logistics sector. He also thanked GIZ and CAA for the efforts put into completing the study and hoped for continued collaboration with them, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the relevant attached agencies, and the private sector.

A short breakout workshop session was also conducted during the event. The participants were divided into two groups facilitated by Ms. Kathleen Dematera and Mr. Mark Tacderas of CAA to discuss how the recommendations are relevant to each agency’s mandates and specific programmes and projects. The launch ended with concluding remarks from Mr. Alan Silayan, Programme Manager of CAA. The event was facilitated by Ms. Hannah Ebro, Country Coordinator of GIZ TCC for the Philippines.