President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday welcomed the plan of Japanese carmaker Toyota to bring back the Tamaraw model in the Philippine market.

In his meeting with Toyota executives, Marcos said the Tamaraw has been a dependable utility transport for many years for Filipinos.

“Many of the Tamaraws you’ve recently built are still on the road,” the chief executive told the officials of the Japanese carmaker, who described the Toyota Tamaraw as the company’s “workhorse.”

Marcos said the Tamaraw brand has been known in the Philippines for decades and not new to the Philippine as well as to the Asian market.

“We have always been appreciative especially in the involvement of Toyota in the Philippines over so many years and I think the mutual experience between Toyota and the Philippine and the local markets has been a good one and the partnership we can look to as a success,” the Filipino leader pointed out.

“It is very interesting to hear your new plans for the Philippines and it’s very much in alignment with what we’re trying to do… we are hoping we are able to improve the situation for your supplier to be able to come in to the ease of doing business,” the President told the Toyota executives.

Marcos also said the Philippine government is also looking at acquiring one model of the Toyota brand, the Mini-Cruiser, for the use of the military.

“It’s something we would like to revisit, simply because we have tried many utility vehicles for the military but they really [have] not been a success for us,” the President noted. Presidential News Desk