The companies under Lopez Group’s First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) will launch a zero-emission bus shuttle service project in Batangas to further their efforts on integrating more green technology and decarbonization in their businesses and allied services.
In a statement on Monday, the group said its subsidiary, First Balfour, through unit Therma One Transport Corp. (TOTC), signed an agreement with GET-Philippines for the initial acquisition of two new generation community optimized managed electric transport or Comet electric buses.

GET-Philippines is the local arm of US-based Global Electric Transport Worldwide Inc. (GET).

TOTC likewise entered an agreement with First Philec Inc., also an FPH subsidiary, for the use of the first Comet bus by the employees of First Philec in the 520-hectare special economic zone, First Philippine Industrial Park, in Batangas.

“We have been integrating sustainability in our businesses and in how we operate. We have been looking at investing in electric vehicles for service vehicles for some time now. For us, this is the future,” TOTC President Anthony Fernandez was quoted as saying.

Fernandez noted that the 30-passenger Comet buses are scheduled for delivery in October.

The buses can travel up to 100 kilometers on a single charge and are equipped with wi-fi connection, a GPS and a contact-tracing app, among others.

The group said TOTC plans to replicate the transport project in other business sites and projects where it will be suitable.

“Partnering with the Lopez Group, an organization renowned for its priority in the sustainable enterprise is a huge milestone. We expect that we will be together at the forefront of what we believe is a changing of the guard in the transport and sustainability sector,” GET-Philippines President Freddie Tinga said.