At the soft opening of the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) Stage 2 in Lipa City, Batangas, the President ordered Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro R. Mendoza to source the fund from the Special Vehicle Control Fund.

"I directed Secretary Mendoza to allocate P1 billion from the Special Vehicle Pollution Control Fund to fund environmentally sustainable transport projects such as alternative fuels, such as CNG (compressed natural gas) and LPG (liquefued petroleum gas)," the President said while onboard a bus powered by CNG travelling the newly paved highway.

"With this R1 billion that Larry Mendoza will allocate, we hope to help transport groups earn higher income in the face of spiraling fuel prices, and we hope to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and we hope therefore to promote clean air," she said.

The President, along with Mendoza, local officials, and journalists, led a convoy that travelled the 19.74-kilometer stretch of the STAR Stage 2 from the Tambo interchange in Lipa City to the Balagtas interchange in Batangas City.

Mrs. Arroyo said the government intends to expand the alternative fuel program for transport vehicles "so this initial fleet of 11 green cabs will end up the template of a modern bus system."

"Against the backdrop of rising oil prices and climate change, the government has a long-term solution to oil price shocks in the form of an indigenous fuel supply that is easy on the pocket and not hard on the environment," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo asked the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC), Department of Energy (DoE), oil company Shell, and bus companies "to step on the gas and full speed ahead" on the promotion of CNG and LPG-powered vehicles in the country.