The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Hariphil Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Volvo Cars in the Philippines led by its vice chairman, president, and CEO Maria Fe Perez Agudo, took a proactive stance to address road safety concerns in the country as it hosted the “Voice of Volvo: Road Safety Master Class series.” This is in line with Volvo Philippines “Vision Zero” which is its global commitment to a future with zero road fatalities or serious injuries.
“As an automotive leader and mobility advocate, Volvo Philippines is committed to driving change beyond vehicles. We witness unfortunate situations, casualties, and fatalities due to road accidents almost every day, on the road and on our media channels. We at HARI step up to do something about it, aware that this issue runs deeper than we think. Establishing an ecosystem of safety in our country calls for a sustained multi-sector dialogue among government agencies, industry leaders, the academe, and civil society to inspire shared responsibility and integrated solutions to road safety in the Philippines,” Agudo said.
The Inaugural session at the Volvo showroom in Pasong Tamo, Makati, HARI adopted the theme “Driving a Safer Future: An Ecosystem Approach to Road Safety” with a distinguished panel of experts who will tackled challenges to road safety from their respective disciplines: education and consumer protection champion Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian; Department of Transportation assistant secretary for road transport Dioscoro Reyes; Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines executive director Dr. Jose Bienvenido M. Biona; and distinguished academic and specialist in governance, human rights, and social enterprise development Dr. Grace Gorospe-Jamon. Multi-awarded broadcast journalist Rico Hizon was the moderator.
Another highlight of the first Voice of Volvo forum is the launch of the Volvo Urban Living Mobility Safety Laboratory, or simply the Volvo Safety Lab, in collaboration with the De La Salle University which envisioned to harness the university’s brilliant minds to pilot innovative safety interventions in real-world communities.