http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index....story_id=48465

ewan lang kung totoo ito pero... am sure merong nakinabang dito.
Check out the IVECO diesel engine, Common rail system na rin yata sya. pag nagkaganon, all FEJODAP jeepneys will be running on common rail diesels?

here's the full story

Gov’t reviving diesel engine replacement program

First posted 06:50am (Mla time) Aug 29, 2005
By Blanche S. Rivera
Inquirer News Service

WITH oil prices at record levels, the government has decided to revive the multibillion-peso project to replace the diesel engines of some 200,000 jeepneys to reduce fuel consumption and ensure compliance with the Clean Air Act.

The Natural Resources Development Corp. would open anew discussions on the viability of the engine replacement program (ERP), a controversial project that was aborted early this year after former NRDC chair General Victor Corpus claimed it was anomalous.

NRDC president Angelico T. Salud said he was working out the conditions stipulated in the memorandum of agreement signed between the NRDC and AT Intergrouppe (ATI) in February so the MOA could be implemented.

Under the MOA, ATI and its Italian partner Iveco would supply new engines to the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Associations of the Philippines (Fedjodap), which claims a membership of over 200,000.

The NRDC would facilitate the transactions and would be paid with the interest on the installment payments for the engines.

"When we have a board meeting, I'll present everything and I'll ask them if they want to continue with the program. My recommendation is to go ahead with it," Salud said in an interview.

Salud said he was optimistic the ERP would proceed.

"I expect 10-15 percent savings in fuel consumption by drivers because obviously a new engine would be more fuel efficient than an old or reconditioned one," he said.

He said he would ask Environment Secretary Michael T. Defensor to convene the NRDC board next month.

Defensor, who has denied Corpus' allegation that he received P10 million for the ERP, assumed the NRDC chairmanship after Corpus resigned on April 27 in disgust over the ERP.

He has not convened the board since May.

The board -- composed of the NRDC president, secretaries of environment, transportation, trade and finance, and the chairs of the Development Bank of the Philippines and National Economic Development Authority -- last convened on Mar. 14 where the MOA was discussed.

"If you remember, what we had then was conditional approval. There are four conditions before the MOA can be executed," Salud said.

Three of the four conditions required for the execution of the MOA have been fulfilled since the MOA was signed.

These include the publication by the NRDC of an advertisement opening the ERP to other firms, the assurance by Pilipinas Engine Remanufacturing and Recondition Corp. that it would settle the issue of P1.5 million released by the NRDC for an initial engine replacement project that was shelved, and a commitment letter from Fedjodap.

"The board wanted to make sure that the major market, which are the jeepney drivers belonging to Fedjodap, remained interested," Salud said.

The only unfulfilled condition was a letter from the Trade and Investment Development Corp., also known as the Philippine Export-Import Credit Agency, saying that there was an application from ATI-Iveco to secure a $180-million loan guarantee from Tidcorp.