One of the biggest contributors to air pollution in the Philippines, is the smoke belching "jeepney" that has been the backbone of commuter transport for half a century.
In Manila, a city of 12 million people, commuters spend hours packed like sardines inside jeepneys breathing in the toxic air.Some 2,000 people die each year in the Philippines, most of them in Manila, due to the effects of air pollution and more than 9,000 suffer from chronic bronchitis, a 2002 World Bank study found.
The cost to the economy in days lost through sickness ranges from 170 million to 430 million dollars, according to World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates.
Source: AFP
Source-IANS
SPH
