FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015 B3 - 1PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

An insight on the VWscandal and FIA policyguidance on the issueThere is a long history of car manufacturers em-

bellishing the efficiency results of their vehi-cles, yet this time Volkswagen admitted it delib-

erately cheated for years on US clean-air standards,making nearly half a million diesel cars appear clean-er-burning than they are. It was discovered that fivediesel-powered VW and Audi vehicles featured thedefeat devices, which masks the true emissions onlyduring testing. It is software that turns off emissionscontrols when driving normally and turns them onwhen the car is undergoing an emissions test. Whenthe cars are on the road the emissions controls are in-effective and emit as much as 40 times the level of pol-lutants allowed under clean air rules meant to ensurepublic health is protected.

What happened exactly?Researchers from the West

Virginia University togetherwith the International Councilon Clean Transportation (IC-CT), a non-governmental orga-nization conducted an indepen-dent study questioning theemissions levels of diesel cars.The results from the particularVolkswagen and Audi modelsalarmed the researchers, whothen decided to address the Cal-ifornia Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA) and Califor-

nia Air Resources Board(CARB). The agencies have fur-ther investigated the issue andconcluded the presence of thedefeat device software, laterconfirmed by Volkswagen.

How come the scamworked everywhere,but the US?

While European tests are car-ried out in government-ap-pointed facilities and incorpo-rate laboratory readings1, the

US EPA relies on tests conduct-ed by the manufacturers them-selves, allowing them to effec-tively "self-certify" the test. TheEPA has a limited budget andstaff and it only tests around15% of new vehicles. A similarsituation makes it easier for au-tomakers to manipulate results.

There is a number of ways tocheat the consumption and ex-haust emission tests, such as spe-cial low-friction oils and particu-larly low-friction tires, whichseemed not to be enough to meetthe environmental requirementsof the United States. ThereforeVolkswagen has manipulated thesoftware of the vehicles to showbetter results under test than inthe real-drive mode. It is quitesimple to trick the system: theon-board computer (telematicsplatform) needs to recognisethat the car is put to the test-mode. It acknowledges that theengine is running and the wheelshasten, but there is no move-ment. Such tests are preciselydefined and well known to themanufacturers, which makes iteasier to determine when the carremains in place, how fast it ac-

celerates, whether it is in the ur-ban environment or on the high-way. When the software detectsthe test program, it automatical-ly switches to environmentalmode, so it can perform up to thestrictest emission standards. Thehigh-results remain achievableonly in the test mode, while thereal-life driving is different,where real nitrogen oxide (NOx)emissions are up to 40 timeshigher than the standards set bythe EPA. Therefore, the EPA ac-cuses Volkswagen of using theemissions control software indiesel vehicles sold in the UnitedStates between the model years2009 and 2015, referred toas "defeat device" in the CleanAir Act.

The Clean Air Act obliges vehi-cle manufacturers to declare toEPA that they are meeting theapplicable federal emission stan-dards to control air pollution aswell as it requires that every ve-hicle sold in the USA must becovered by an EPA-issued certifi-cate of conformity. Therefore thevehicles, which are equippedwith defeat devices, which re-duce the effectiveness of the

emission control system duringnormal driving conditions, can-not be certified. Conclusively,Volkswagen violated two impor-tant provisions of the Clean AirAct, by manufacturing and sell-ing vehicles with defeat devicesthat allowed for higher levels ofair emissions than those thatwere certified.

In the pastIt has long been suspected

that vehicle manufacturers usedefeat devices and there aremultiple examples uncovered inthe past of not as good as fueleconomy performance andgreater NOx emissions thanclaimed. The defeat devices areonly part of the wider scam usedto bypass the tests. For example,earlier this month ICCT discov-ered that only one-third of thetested cars pass the NOx limitthreshold in a tougher testregime.

Furthermore, the EPA and theUS Justice Department havepreviously settled with severaldiesel engine companies oververy similar charges: the truckmanufacturers installed defeat

devices which led to truckspassing federal emissions tests,but exceeded up to three timesthe legal limit of NOx whendriven on the highway.

Emissions test resultsglobally

Seeing how easily the emis-sions test can be cheated, oneshould assume that many othercar brands manipulate the testresults to comply with the emis-sion regulations in Europe, aswell as around the globe. Evenin Europe, although vehiclesare passing the tests, there isstrong evidence that vehicles,both diesel or petrol, in realdriving situations perform dif-ferently from what is claimedby the manufacturers. This alsodepends on the number of tricksthat are potentially permittedunder test conditions, such asremoving the components fromthe car in order to reduceweight, using special lubricantsor overinflating tires and super-smooth testing tracks. There-fore, the recent scandal withVolkswagen cannot be attribut-

AN INSIGHT/ B3-21 More precisely, in Europe the tests are carried out on the exhaust gas test benches of the car manufacturers and need to follow regulated test protocols. Only upon the request, the Type-Approval-authority gets access to internal investigation of the automobile manufacturers.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015B3 - 2 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

ed to a single manufacturer inthe US, but rather concerns allcar manufacturers worldwide.

ImplicationsTrust is a precious capital and

it comes from ensuring a trans-parent relationship with con-sumers.

In the mobility landscapemany of our future challengesare shaped by people's values,behaviour and preferences.Consumers can contribute andplay a crucial role in definingconsumption patterns and ev-eryone needs to think aboutways to influence mass be-haviour and social norms topromote low-carbon, healthierurban lifestyles. This is why en-gaging with consumers is key topromoting sustainable patterns.When consumers are put in aposition to embrace new tech-nology, then public policy, tech-nological progress, and marketsuccess will be mutually rein-forcing. Breaking this link canundermine consumers' trustand compromise the effective-ness of the policy intervention.

From the consumers' point ofview, the practices used in theVW case are likely to not belimited to diesel cars and to the

emissions, and thus might beused by other car manufactur-ers. This conclusively results inmis-information of consumersand in deteriorating their trust.

1. Digital technology and theinternet are changing society insome fundamental ways, includ-ing how we act as consumers.Consumers value transparency,their expectations are high andtend to grow as the connectivityincreases. The automotive indus-try needs to strengthen trustamong consumers, promotingmore transparent practices, andwork closely with governmentsto achieve the best outcomes interms of environmental perfor-mance. More transparency leadsto more sustainable consump-tion.

The need for independentconsumer programs

The practice of self-regula-tion within the industry doesnot contribute to narrowing thistrust-gap with consumers. Inde-pendent consumer testing pro-grammes have proven to be ex-tremely effective in improvingindustry standards and theoverall quality of the productson the market. The experienceof NCAPs in improving vehicle

safety and iRAP for road infras-tructure safety is unmistakableand has led to impressive im-provements in passive safety.Several FIA clubs around theworld perform demonstrationprogrammes and independenttests to inform their membersabout the divergence betweenreal-world and claimed fuelconsumption/CO2 emissionperformance as measured bythe official tests.

This kind of programmes, incombination with fuel efficiencylabelling schemes, provide con-sumers with the necessary infor-mation not only on the fuel econ-omy measured in testing, but al-so on the fuel costs associatedwith operating the vehicle.These can effectively contributeto building consumer trust, aswell as to encourage them topurchase the most sustainableproducts on the market and tostimulate the car manufacturersto provide higher standard.

2. Governments should ei-ther create or encourage the es-tablishment of independentconsumer assessment pro-grammes, as a key element forbuilding trust in vehicle emis-sions and efficiency perfor-mance.

A more consistentregulatory frameworkfor the industry

Industry collaboration needsto increase with regards to com-mon ways of improving vehicleenergy efficiency and emissionsperformance, both for heavyduty vehicles and for passengercars. The G20 group adoptedthe G20 Energy Efficiency Ac-tion Plan during the AustraliaSummit in 2014, which in-cludes the development of rec-ommendations for strengthen-ing domestic standards in G20countries in as many areas aspossible related to the clean fu-els, vehicle emissions and vehi-cle fuel efficiency and greenfreight. In this respect, interna-tional conventions should pro-mote the creation of a moreconsistent framework for indus-try players and, at the sametime, establish better protectionmechanisms for consumers.

The Worldwide harmonisedLight vehicle Test Procedure(WLTP), for example, which hasbeen recently adopted within theUNECE framework, thanks to thework of experts from the Euro-pean Union, Japan, and India,defines a global harmonised

standard for determining the lev-els of pollutants and CO2 emis-sion, fuel and energy consump-tion for passenger cars. TheWLTP can better simulate realdriving conditions, with moremodern and realistic driving sce-narios that contribute to increasefuel consumption. A harmonizedapproach will also make it easierto compare fuel efficiency andemission standards across re-gions and countries. Over time,this is expected to improve the ef-fectiveness of air quality targetsand CO2 reduction policies.

3. Governments should im-plement the WLTP as soon aspossible, to ensure that the dif-ference between values mea-sured under test conditions andreal life values experienced byconsumers on the road is re-duced.

The end of diesel technology?Another more general impli-

cation emerges from the VWcase. Regardless of which tech-nologies are considered toreach worldwide emissions re-duction goal, there is a generalagreement that most emissionreductions by the year 2050 willbe achieved by improving theInternal Combustion Engines

(ICE). It is crucial to strengthenemission control on ICE, whilesimultaneously looking at newlow-carbon technologies to re-tain significant market sharesand consumer confidence.Although diesel vehicle repre-sents a niche at a global scale(about 1 out 7 cars sold isfuelled with diesel), in the Eu-ropean Union that share reach-es 50% on average. In Europe,in fact, diesel cars have beenpromoted as a low carbon andcheap to run alternative topetrol and, in many countries,make up half of the newcar market. Over the last 15-20years, consumers embraced thistechnology, believing they weremore environmentally friendly,and under the promise of savingon pump prices. Now, afterseveral years and the evidencethat diesel cars emit tinyparticles of dust (PM 2.5 andPM10) and nitrogen dioxide(NO2), which are dangerous forthe health, many cities startedconsidering banning dieselvehicles from city centers tomeet air quality legislation. Thenew VW case now coming tolight will for sure put dieseltechnology under additionalpressure.

AAP distributes motorcycle helmetsto Nueva Ecija school children

MAKING MOTORING FUN

An insight on the VW scandal and FIA policy guidance on the issue

What works …in EDSA traffic?By Gus LagmanAAP President

The HPG (Highway PatrolGroup) recently reportedthat the time it takes totraverse EDSA from Bal-intawak in the north toTaft in the south has beenreduced by approximatelyone hour, compared to amonth ago. That waswhen the HPG started tak-ing over the managementof the EDSA traffic.

What factors contribut-ed to the smoother flow oftraffic? Let me mentionsome of those I have ob-served.

1. Enforcement of traf-fic rules. This is one of thethree "E's" of traffic man-agement - Engineeringand Education, being theother two - which, unfor-tunately, was sorely lack-ing in the past. If driversget away with violatingtraffic rules, then they willcontinue committingthem. We used to witnessthese infractions everyday- right under the noses oftraffic enforcers. Yet, theywere not being appre-hended. Expectedly, otherdrivers would followthem, the number grow-ing geometrically … untilthe violations became partof Filipino traffic culture.The HPG, thankfully, hasstarted correcting thesenicks in our driving cul-ture by apprehending vio-lators.

2. Barriers separatingloading/unloading zonesfrom the rest of the traffic.These sections along ED-SA are the causes of trafficchoke points. But ofcourse! If you stop two offive lanes, then you createa bottleneck. Worse, buseswhich overtake thosewhich are not moving, can

"kill" as many as threelanes. Naturally, all othervehicles would slowdown. The success thatthe barriers installedalong Ayala Avenue inMakati proved, is, in fact,what prompted the Man-agement Association ofthe Philippines to includethis solution among itsrecommendations.

3. More drivers practic-ing road courtesy. I mightonly be imagining things,but I seem to notice aslight improvement in thehabits of some drivers.Perhaps it's out of frustra-tion with the traffic situa-tion and they don't wantto be a contributor to it,and/or the awareness thatreckless driving can resultin being apprehended. Iseem to experience less in-cidents of "siksikan" or "ip-itan" (trying to gain posi-tional advantage at the ex-pense of others). Driversmay now be thinking thata little sacrifice can help insomehow alleviating thevery bad traffic situation.

4. Some re-routing andother improvements. Cer-tainly, there are other fac-tors that helped lightenthe flow of traffic, includ-ing the presence of theHPG even on Sundays andholidays. It is truly thecombination of all theseimprovements - not justone solution - that has re-sulted in the over-allshortening of travel timealong EDSA.

- - -I've often wondered

why we spend money fix-ing potholes on our roadsto preserve our vehicles …and then install thosethick "rumble strips" to

wreck them. I also can'tfigure out the logic in theselection of places to putthose "car-wreckers". Avery good example are thethree thick rumble strips ashort distance before theAlabang fly-over, south-bound; followed by twomore on the fly-over itself.What purpose do theyserve?

They say the rumblestrips keep drivers whoare feeling drowsy, alert. Ihave actually seen those insome of Europe's express-ways. They appear maybeonce in very long stretchesof generally straight roadsand very light traffic. LastJuly, I drove for three daysin England (outside Lon-don) and never saw onethat crossed the road.They are only installedalong the space betweenthe carriageway and theshoulder, obviously towarn drivers when theyveer too near the edge ofthe road.

We seem to overdothings in our country.Years ago, I counted therumble strips from the Sta.Rosa exit to the start of theclimb to Tagaytay. Therewere eleven! … in a veryshort stretch of road, withintersections equippedwith traffic lights.

Some questions: Doesthe government agencyinstalling them reallyknow what they are for?Are there statistics show-ing that many drivers fallasleep in those locations?Are there statistics show-ing that that there are lessroad crashes in those loca-tions since those rumblestrips were installed?

The Automobile Association Philip-pines (AAP), together with thePhilippine Global Road Safety Part-nership (PGRSP), has been dis-tributing Protec motorcycle hel-mets to public school children since2010 in support of the Decade ofAction for Road Safety 2011-2020and the "Save Kids Campaign" of

the United Nations, FIA (Interna-tional Automobile Federation) andAsia Injury Prevention Foundation.

AAP is the only Philippine affili-ate of the FIA while AAP PresidentGus Lagman serves as chairman ofthe PGRSP, whose secretariat ishoused in the AAP office at 28 ED-SA, Greenhills.

The helmets are given free tochildren who ride to school on mo-torcycles with a parent or an olderrelative. Last September 16, AAPwent to Nueva Ecija to distributehelmets to students of the St.Christopher Academy (SCA) ofNueva Ecija.

AAP Vice President and Advoca-

cies Committee Chairman Johnny Angeles,3M Sales Manager Rowan Rellosa, PGRSPProgram Coordinator Marte Perez, St.Christopher Academy of Nueva EcijaSchool Directress Cynthia Anggulo, NuevaEcija Vice Mayor Albert Caraang and AileenMappala of the University of the Philip-pines National Center for TransportationStudies (UP-NCTS) attended the event.

Crisanto Cruz, the principal of SCA Nue-va Ecija, expressed his sincerest gratitudeto AAP and PGRSP for choosing their schoolto participate in the UN's campaign to pro-mote road safety. Vice Mayor AlbertCaraang commended the project of AAPand PGRSP, saying, "This might be a smallstep but it will result in a bigger purpose

and that is to save lives of children."AAP Vice President Johnny Angeles

stressed that helmets save lives, "We havedistributed helmets to children since 2010in many parts of the Philippines. We aim tolessen if not to eliminate the accidents in-volving motorcycles in which most of thevictims are children," he said. Angeles re-minded the children to always use their hel-mets when traveling on a motorcycle andnot just give the helmet to their parents in-stead.

After the helmet distribution, 3M Philip-pines Sales Manager Rellosa donated re-flectorized stickers to the 30 drivers of tri-cycles that usually transport students toand from school.

PTCC Series Creates Action-PackedWeekend at Batangas Racing CircuitMOTOR sport fans en-joyed an action-packedweekend on September26 and 27 at the BatangasRacing Circuit whenRounds 9 and 10 of the2015 Philippine TouringCar Championship(PTCC) series had thecountry's top touring cardrivers battled it out to-wards the chequered flag.

Making podium inRounds 9 and 10 was par-ticularly important for thedrivers as it will be fol-lowed by the last andchampionship leg of thePTCC 2015 season nextmonth.

The PTCC series is or-ganized by the Automo-bile Association Philip-pines and promoted bythe Philippine Race CarDrivers, Inc. in partner-ship with the PhilippineGrand Touring Champi-onships Series.

Richmon de la Rosa tri-umphed after baggingRounds 9 and 10, as closerival and pole sitter PaoloMantolino had to retirefrom the race and foregodefending his Driver of theYear title due to mechani-

cal problems in both races.Division 1 points leader

Walter Zamora came insecond and third, respec-tively, in the two races,thereby securing top spotin the championshippoints with a 10-point ad-vantage over de la Rosa.

Meanwhile in the Divi-sion 2 class, points leaderPatrick de la Rosa contin-ued to dominate againstclose rivals NR Joaquinand Dindo de Jesus bygaining the top spot inboth races and enjoying a27-point advantage in the

championship points oversecond placer Joaquin fol-lowed by de Jesus in third.

Spectators witnessedintensive racing in the Di-vision 3 class as the com-petitors went all the wayout to snatch their ownshares in the champi-onship points against divi-sion class leader Ivan Di-az, who relegated Jogin-der Sin to second place.

Edwin Rodriguez andRhaffy Latorre foughtwheel to wheel all theway to the chequered flagfor third place, but unfor-

tunately, Latorre wasslapped with a 30-secondpenalty by the stewardsfor an avoidable contactwith Rodriguez.

Latorre's penalty be-queathed a podium finishto Mikko David, whocame back to racing aftermore than a decade, driv-ing a Mazda2. Diaz com-fortably leads with 300points which guaranteeshis winning this year's Di-vision 3 class over-all.

"As we go into the lastand championship legnext month, we expectmore thrilling and excit-ing races since divisionclass over-all champi-onships are still up forgrabs," AAP motor sportoperations manager MarkDesales said. "That in-cludes the prestigiousAAP Driver of the Yearaward."

The next and final legof the 2015 PTCC serieswill be held on November7 and 8 at the Clark Inter-national Speedway. Formore information, call theAAP Motor Sport Depart-ment at 655-5889 local823.

September 27, 2015: Division 1 class championship pointsleader Walter Zamora (left) raced wheel to wheel againstsecond placer Richmon Dela Rosa during the 5th leg atthe Batangas Racing Circuit.

BONG BOADO

Sept. 16, 2015: AAP Advocacies Manager Cynthia Reyes (black shirt, sitting), AAP Vice President and AdvocaciesCommittee Chairman Johnny Angeles (gray polo), PGRSP Program Coordinator Marte Perez (first row standing),Nueva Ecija Vice Mayor Albert Caraang, Engr. Aileen Mappala of UP-NCTS, School Directress Cynthia Anggulo, 3MSales Manager Rowan Rellosa (back row), with the faculty and students of St. Christopher Academy of Nueva EcijaInc. in Licab, Nueva Ecija for the Protec helmet distribution.

From page B3-1

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015 B3 - 3PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

AAP's Motor SportDevelopment ProgramGoes to BacolodAfter the successful launch-ing of the AAP-FIA MotorSport Development Pro-gram last August 30 atMegatent in Libis QuezonCity, the Automobile Associ-ation Philippines held itsfirst Visayas leg in BacolodCity.

The program is a one-daysession consisting of class-room-type lectures andpractical driving tests com-bining road safety and mo-tor sport driving tech-niques. AAP developed theprogram to upgrade theskills of young (ages 16 to19) drivers and thereby en-courage those with the po-tential, the talent and"champion attitude" to com-pete in local motor sportevents.

In effect, the AAP-FIA Mo-tor Sport Development Pro-gram is a race driver discov-ery and training project atthe grass roots level de-signed to inject fresh youngtalent in local motor sport

with the objective of grow-ing Philippine motor sportand elevate its standards.The program has received agrant from the FIA (Interna-tional Automobile Federa-tion), the Paris-based orga-nization that governs allfour-wheel motor sportworldwide including For-mula One, the World RallyChampionship and 24Hours of Le Mans. AAP isthe only Philippine affiliateof the FIA.

The training team isheaded by Vip Isada, the 10-time National Rally Cham-pion, as Program Head In-structor. The members ofthe training team are IvanIsada, Vip Isada's son who isalso a rally champion driver,Rally organizer and AAP-ap-pointed race official BebotReyes, and champion rallynavigator Art Guevara whois also an AAP-appointedrace official, with the assis-tance of the program's Ba-colod leg coordinator Bi-

bong Narciso.Module 1 of the program

teaching the fundamentalsof driving and understand-ing motor sport was at-tended by Bacolod City'smotor sport enthusiastsfrom different age groups.When the program con-cludes, the top threedrivers ages 16-19 will begiven a chance to competewith other program win-ners at the final leg inManila, which is tentative-ly set in November.

AAP motor sport opera-tions manager Mark De-sales said: "The program isbeginning to shape up. Weare getting positive feed-back from the participantsthat the program was in-deed a big help for them toget into motor sport theright way. And of course,having a deeper under-standing of motor sport.That is how it is supposed tobe done."

The next Visayas leg of

Participants and trainers at the Bacolod City leg of the AAP Motor Sport Development Program.

the program was in Cebu City onOctober 11. The program will alsobe conducted in Davao City and

tentatively in Cagayan De Oro. Formore information, please like the"MOTORSPORT DEVELOPMENT

PROGRAM" Facebook page or callthe AAP Motor Sport Department at655-5889 local 823.

Vios Cup Season 2 Races Bring Excitementand Fun to the Manila Bay CircuitMETRO Manila witnessedanother fun-filled and exhil-arating motor sport eventthe weekend of September5 and 6, 2015 as Vios CupSeason 2 held its leg 3 at theManila Bay Circuit SM Mallof Asia grounds in PasayCity.

Forty-seven race-preppedToyota Vios cars competedin the 1.7-kilometer AAPapproved-street race trackdubbed as "Manila Bay Cir-cuit" which has seven turnsand two speed traps to slowdown the cars.

Young driver and acekarter Estefano Rivera ofToyota Alabang ruled theSporting class in both races5 and 6, surpassing team-mate and close rival AndresCalma, who ruled the Cebuleg last May, and his kartingcontemporaries Daniel Mi-randa and Bobby Domingo.

In the Promotional class,Miguel Diaz snatched victo-ries in both races 5 and 6,gaining a comfortable mar-

gin against second placerLord Seno of Toyota Cebu inrace 5. Coming in third wasSenator JV Ejercito, whoshowed consistent lap timesduring the race.

In race 6, Alexis Salvadorbagged the second spot be-hind Diaz. There was an un-expected podium finish forToyota Motor PhilippinesPresident Mitch Sugata,who climbed up to third po-sition and was able to main-tain it until the chequeredflag.

In the Celebrity class race5, 2014 champion Sam YGinitially controlled the paceagainst lady driverPhoemela Barranda, butmechanical problemsforced him to leave the raceand give Barranda the topspot. Consequently, JinnoRufino and actor Fabio Idefinished second and third,respectively.

But in race 6, Sam YGmade a successful come-back, securing control of the

competition as he stretchedhis 19-second marginagainst Barranda, who fin-ished second, followed byRufino in third.

"It was indeed anotherweekend of fun and excitingraces," AAP motor sport op-erations manager Mark De-sales said. "Everyone was allpumped-up with anticipa-tion and focused on theraces, even the AAP offi-cials. Adrenaline was run-ning high all throughout theweekend. It was great to seethat Toyota Motor Philip-pines and Tuason RacingSchool are exerting all theirefforts to bring motor sportcloser to the public by orga-nizing races in the metropo-lis."

The next and final leg ofthe Vios Cup Season 2 isscheduled on November 28and 29 but the venue is yetto be announced. For moreupdates, please like the"AAP Motorsports" Face-book page.

The Manila Bay Circuit a the SM Mall of Asia grounds was the scene of the Vios Cup Season 2Leg 3

Forty-seven competitors were divided into three classes: Sporting, Promotional and Celebrity

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015B3 - 4 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

AAP Travel's 10th Drive Tourism Caravan Goes to BulacanAAP Travel, a wholly owned sub-sidiary of the Automobile Associa-tion Philippines, aims to upgradethe knowledge and appreciationof Filipinos about the history,scenic beauty, arts and culture oftheir own country. AAP Travel hasbeen doing this by conductingDrive Tourism Caravans, the latestof which took a hundred partici-pants driving in a convoy to Bula-can on Saturday, October 3, 2015.

The one-day Bulacan sojourn,themed as "Enjoying BountifulHarvests and Exploring the Off-Beaten Paths of History and Cul-ture," was AAP Travel's 10th DriveTourism Caravan and was attend-ed by AAP directors, members andfriends plus a few journalists. Itwas organized with Petron Blaze100 Euro 4 as the major part-ner/sponsor in cooperation withthe Department of Tourism Region3, the Tourism Office of Bulacanunder Governor Wilhemino Sy-Al-varado, the Tourism PromotionsBoard, Manila North TollwaysCorporation and Aeromed, the of-ficial ambulance provider of AAP.

After the flag-off early morning

at the Petron Marilao station, thecaravan motored to Ciudad de Vic-toria, a 140-hectare tourism enter-prise zone in the towns of Bocaueand Santa Maria, Bulacan that in-tegrates residential and officebuildings with shopping, enter-tainment, leisure, education, busi-ness and sports facilities. The cen-terpiece of Ciudad de Victoria isthe Philippine Arena and Philip-pine Sports Stadium, consideredthe biggest in the country.

After visiting the magnificentstructures of Ciudad de Victoria,the caravan proceeded to the his-toric church of Barasoain, whichdates back to the 15th century,and then headed to the Kames-tizuhan street where the ancestralhouse of Santos-Uitangcoy is lo-cated. It is a national heritagehouse owned by one of the leadersof the women of Malolos whoplayed a crucial role in Philippinehistory. They were the heroines towhom Dr. Jose Rizal addressed hisfamous letter "Sulat sa mgaKadalagahang Taga-Malolos" ("ALetter to the Women of Malolos.")

Following this discovery, the

participants got to taste the localrice cakes outside the BulacanPasalubong Center. The next stopwas the East West Seed Farm inSan Rafael, from where high-qual-ity vegetable seeds are exported toabout 60 countries worldwide.The caravan participants experi-enced harvesting hybrid vegetableplants at the farm.

From the seed farm, the cara-van participants drove to the DailyBread Organic Farm in Bustos for asumptuous lunch.

As part of AAP's CSR, the partic-ipants visited the Bahay at Yamanni San Martin de Porres in Bustos,a shelter for abandoned children.The children presented a specialshow that included a group play-ing the violin and a boy perform-ing a break-dance. Incidentally,the children live in special stonehouses similar to those owned by

the Ivatans of Batanes.Before returning to Manila, the

caravan made a final stop at theMunicipal Office of Bustos whereMayor Ariel Mendoza welcomedthe participants, gave a short talkon Bustos and served minasa andcoconut sherbet, the local delica-cies.

Many caravan participantswere pleasantly surprised and im-pressed by the heritage sites andunheralded attractions that Bula-can has to offer, since tourist at-tractions are often associated withwell-known destinations far fromManila. AAP Travel's next DriveTourism Caravan is scheduled onNovember 28 - 29, 2015 withTagaytay as the destination. Formore details, contact AAP Travelat (02)551-00-14, or through+(639)28-507-42-88 or emailinfo_aaptravel@yahoo.com.ph

Participants of the Bulacan Drive Tourism Caravan at the PhilippineArena of the Ciudad de Victoria in the towns of Bocaue and SantaMaria.

Petron Value Card: A Caravaner's CompanionLast October 3, 2015, AAP inpartnership with Petron Blaze100 Euro 4 organized the 10thDrive - Tour Caravan to theprovince of Bulacan. With thetheme "Enjoying Bountiful Har-vests and Exploring the Off -Beaten Path of History and Cul-ture", participants discovered un-chartered part of history such asthe crucial role the women of Bu-lacan played in history, unraveledhidden man-made treasures suchas the Ivatan Stone House Villagein Bustos and harvested hybridvegetable plants of East WestSeed in San Rafael.

The participants were very hap-py to receive the Petron Value Card(PVC) loaded with P1,000 fuel.Through the PVC travelers can bet-ter enjoy drive -tour caravans be-cause now they can travel worryand hassle - free since it providesspecial benefits such as free tow-ing and roadside assistance, year-

round personal accident insuranceand special privileges such as useof clean and spacious restroomsdeveloped for exclusive use of PVCcustomers.

Petron continuous to provideits customers not just quality fuelbut complete road-side assis-tance that would ensure safetyand comfort while on travel.Twenty - five years ago, Petron in-troduced Lakbay Alalay to serveas a reliable traveling companionduring long holidays. Now, withthe PVC traveling is more conve-nient any time of the year. As a re-wards card, its customers canearn points which can be used topay for products or services at allparticipating Petron establish-ments

Beyond the regular auto ser-vices, Petron always providesnew and exciting promotions tomake traveling a convenient andfun experience.

AAP holds its first in-house Motor Sport officials training seminarTHE Automobile AssociationPhilippines recently held itsfirst in-house classroom train-ing seminar to upgrade theknowledge and reinforce themorale of the country's licensedmotorsport officials.

During the weekend of Au-gust 15-16, around 80 licensedmotorsport officials attendedthe program hosted by AAP mo-torsport department operationsmanager Mark Desales. Offi-cials in all motorsport disci-plines such as slalom, circuit,karting and drag racing werethere, plus the former marshalsof the Subic International Race-way, local marshals of the ClarkInternational Speedway andseveral from the Tuason RacingSchool.

The first day of the seminarwas programmed for aspiringofficials while the second daywas for veteran officials. Thetopics tackled what comprisesmotorsport officiating, such asRace Control, Medical Interven-tion Vehicle (MIV), scrutineer-ing, flag marshaling posts, Res-cue and Extrication, Adminis-tration, and Secretariat. Theseminar also simulated differ-ent track incidents to test the

marshals' knowledge on how todeal with such situations.

The key speakers were AAPmotorsport committee chairand board member MandyEduque, senior officials withVip Isada as lead trainer, IvanIsada, Art Guevara, BebotReyes, Darwin Harina and Rodi-ni Rivera, and AAP Chief Medi-cal Officer Dr. Henry Yañez.Guest trainers Oscar Nuke andOlson Camacho also participat-ed in the seminar. Many of thespeakers were members of theAAP team that went to Australiafor Practical Officials SafetyTraining October 29 - Novem-ber 12, 2014.

During the seminar, Desalesand Eduque reminded the offi-cials that they should knowtheir profession by heart as noAAP-sanctioned motorsportevent could start without them."Without you marshals, the rac-ers-despite their expertise-don'tget to race," Desales said.

"It is you marshals who willtell the racers what happens,where it happens. You will bethe eye of the control tower, thefirst responder, among manyother responsibilities. That iswhy we want you to take this

seminar and the knowledge itgives seriously," Eduque said.

Desales and the key speakersnoted that the seminar, whichwas opened to suggestions fromthe participants, is a step to-wards elevating the skills ofPhilippine motorsport officialsto international standards.

As a follow-up to the officials

training program that was con-ducted by the Confederation ofAustralian Motor Sport in 2014in Manila, the AAP-led seminaraimed to ensure that officialsare fully equipped and knowl-edgeable enough to performtheir official duties efficiently.This would enhance the safetyof the AAP-sanctioned motor-

sport events.AAP, the only Philippine

member of the Federation Inter-nationale de l' Automobile(FIA) which governs all four-wheel motorsport worldwide,was authorized by the latter totrain and develop local motor-sport marshals after achievingthe silver (second) level of ac-

creditation in the FIA Institute'sOfficials Safety Training Pro-gram.

The FIA Institute awarded sil-ver accreditation to AAP afterthe Philippines' national autoclub trained for three years withthe Confederation of AustralianMotor Sport, an FIA InstituteRegional Training Provider.

Participants of AAP's first In-House Officials Safety Training held at Discovery Suites Hotel last August 15 and 16.