Lagayan, Abra Is Becoming a Tourism Capital. It Is Doing It With Filipino-Made Electric Vehicles and Smart Mobility Technology.

Lagayan, Abra has a tourism aspiration and a technology strategy to match it. The municipality has been designated as the pilot LGU for the Department of Science and Technology's Smart and Sustainable Community Program in Abra, and it is not treating that designation as a ceremonial title. Mayor Edmarc Crisologo and DOST-Abra conducted a benchmarking visit to three of the Philippines' most credible electric mobility institutions to prepare for a real deployment of locally made e-mobility technologies that will reshape how residents and visitors move through the municipality.

The visit took the delegation to the University of the Philippines Diliman Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute, CHRG Electric Vehicle Technologies Inc., and Tojo Motors Corporation. Three institutions. Three specific capabilities that Lagayan needs to understand before it puts electric vehicles and fast-charging infrastructure on its roads.

Who They Visited and What They Learned

Each stop on the benchmarking visit addressed a distinct layer of the e-mobility ecosystem that Lagayan is building:

UP Diliman Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute is the research institution behind the CHaRM fast-charging technology that has already been deployed in Apayao under MOVE Apayao. The EEEI's expertise in power electronics and EV charging systems gives the Lagayan delegation access to the scientific and engineering knowledge underpinning the charging infrastructure they plan to deploy. Understanding the technology at the university level means Lagayan's implementation will be informed by the people who designed it, not just the people who sell it.

CHRG Electric Vehicle Technologies Inc. is the developer of fast-charging systems specifically designed for e-trikes, one of the most common and most economically important forms of public transport in Philippine municipalities. E-trikes are not just a tourism vehicle in Lagayan. They are the backbone of daily community mobility. Fast-charging systems that reduce downtime for e-trike operators are what make the economics of electric transport work for drivers who depend on their vehicles for daily income.

Tojo Motors Corporation builds proudly Filipino electric vehicles, including the TOJO e-jeepney already demonstrated under MOVE Apayao in the Cordillera. The benchmarking visit to Tojo gives Lagayan's leadership a direct relationship with the manufacturer of the vehicles they are planning to deploy, allowing for informed procurement decisions, maintenance planning, and the kind of manufacturer-level support that ensures the vehicles remain operational long after the launch event.

Why Lagayan and Why Now

Lagayan's designation as a pilot LGU for DOST's Smart and Sustainable Community Program is grounded in its stated ambition to become the tourism capital of Abra. Tourism and transportation are inseparable: a destination that cannot move visitors comfortably, affordably, and reliably through its landscape will always underperform its potential, regardless of how compelling its natural and cultural attractions are.

Electric mobility serves Lagayan's tourism ambition in a specific way. E-trikes and e-jeepneys operating on clean energy in a municipality known for its natural environment send a consistent signal to visitors: this is a place that takes its character seriously. The quieter, cleaner vehicles also improve the actual visitor experience in ways that fuel-powered alternatives cannot match in a tourism setting.

Beyond tourism, the Smart and Sustainable Community Program designation positions Lagayan as a testing ground for locally made Philippine technology in a real rural context. What works in Lagayan, what breaks, what needs adjustment, and what exceeds expectations becomes institutional knowledge that DOST-Abra and the national DOST programme can use to inform rollouts in other municipalities across Abra and the wider Cordillera region.

The Bigger Picture for Abra and the Cordillera

Lagayan's initiative follows the May 18, 2026 launch of MOVE Apayao, which deployed CHaRM charging technology and a TOJO e-jeepney in Apayao with DOST-CAR and DOTr-CAR support. The two initiatives, separated by province but connected by technology, partnership, and institutional framework, suggest an emerging pattern of electric mobility deployment across the Cordillera that is deliberately regional in scope.

DOST-Abra's involvement in Lagayan, alongside DOST-CAR's regional ambition to scale MOVE Apayao across the Cordillera, points toward a future where Filipino-made clean transport technologies move through highland municipalities as a connected system rather than isolated municipal pilots.

For Lagayan specifically, the benchmarking visit is the beginning of an implementation process, not a study tour that ends in a report. The municipality has a pilot designation, a mayor who traveled to Manila to understand the technology in person, and a DOST partnership built for deployment. The e-mobility future of Abra's tourism capital is already in motion.

Source: DOST-Abra | Municipality of Lagayan | LGU Lagayan, Abra | CHRG Electric Vehicle Technologies Inc. | Tojo Motors Corporation | UP Diliman EEEI