The Tricycle in the Philippines: A Comprehensive History
How a Wartime Relic Became the Backbone of Filipino Communities, Economies, and Everyday Life - With a Special Focus on Estancia and Iloilo Province
I. Origins: From the Ashes of War
The Philippine tricycle - that unmistakable motorcycle-and-sidecar vehicle rumbling through every town, barangay, and alleyway in the archipelago - was never officially "invented." It was improvised, born from the wreckage and leftovers of World War II.
According to Wikipedia and multiple historical accounts, the Philippine tricycle is most likely derived from the Rikuo Type 97, a Japanese military motorcycle that was essentially a licensed copy of a Harley-Davidson with a sidecar. The Imperial Japanese Army brought these vehicles to the Philippines beginning in 1941. After the war ended, abandoned motorcycles and sidecars littered the countryside. As Discover Philippines puts it so well: "Mechanics, tinkerers, and dreamers saw potential where others saw scrap metal. With a few bolts, some bending of steel, and a whole lot of bahala na, the tricycle was born."
Before the tricycle, Filipinos relied on horse-drawn carriages called kalesa (or carromata), and the human-powered trisikad (cycle rickshaw). Interestingly, Americans tried to introduce pulled rickshaws in the early 20th century, but Filipinos strongly opposed them, viewing them as undignified - turning humans into "beasts," as historical accounts note. That cultural resistance helped clear the way for motorized alternatives.
By the 1950s and 1960s, Filipino welders and mechanics were building their own sidecars, bolting them to imported or surplus motorcycles, and a new form of transportation was born - one that perfectly suited the narrow streets, rural roads, and island geography of the Philippines.
II. From Freelance Hustle to Formal Recognition (Pre-1985 to Present)
For decades, tricycle drivers were freelancers in the truest sense. No contracts, no government backing, no formal associations. They built their own sidecars, chose their own routes, and negotiated fares by instinct. As Discover Philippines documents, "They built their own sidecars, managed their own routes, and negotiated every fare by instinct and experience."
Everything changed in October 1985 with the issuance of Letter of Instruction No. 1482, which formally recognized tricycles as a vital part of public transportation and placed their regulation under local government units (LGUs). As Tuk Tuk PH's historical research confirms, this was the first time the term "tricycle" appeared in Philippine law.
Key regulatory milestones include:
- 1985: Letter of Instruction No. 1482 formally recognizes tricycles as public transport.
- 1991: The Local Government Code devolves tricycle franchising to Local Government Units (LGUs) like Sangguniang Bayan or Panlungsod.
- 1994: An LTO Memorandum Circular establishes the Motorized Tricycle Operator's Permit (MTOP) system.
- 2020s: There is a growing push for electric tricycles (e-trikes) and modernization under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.
Today, every tricycle-for-hire must secure an MTOP - a franchise or license to operate issued by the local government. Drivers organize themselves into TODAs (Tricycle Operators and Drivers' Associations), which manage routes, terminals, and queue systems in virtually every municipality across the country.
III. The Tricycle by the Numbers
The sheer scale of the tricycle sector in the Philippines is staggering. According to congressional records, there were over 1.5 million registered tricycles in the Philippines as of 2022. Other estimates, including from Gulf News, have placed the total number (including unregistered units) at as high as 4.5 million. These figures do not yet account for the explosive growth of electric three-wheelers in recent years.
Tricycles are particularly dominant in rural areas and small municipalities where jeepneys and buses cannot profitably operate. In many towns, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao, the tricycle is quite literally the only form of motorized public transport available.
IV. A Vehicle Built for Filipino Roads (and Filipino Ingenuity)
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Philippine tricycle is that there is no single national design standard. Every city, every town, every province has its own tricycle style - a rolling gallery of Filipino engineering creativity.
As the Consulate General of Japan in Cebu observed, "The designs of a tricycle differ from city to city." Some standout regional variations include:
Iloilo Province - Tricycles here are distinctively large, often seating 8 to 9 passengers in a "back-to-back" (locally, talikuran) bench arrangement. As noted by the transport blog Caught (up) in Traffic, "Sidecars here often have roofs designed to carry heavy loads including agricultural products." These bigger sidecars reflect the agricultural and fishing economy of the province, where tricycles must serve as both passenger vehicles and cargo haulers.
Pagadian City, Zambodan del Sur - Famous for its "tilted" or slanted tricycles, where the sidecar is angled at 25-40 degrees - a unique solution to the city's hilly terrain.
Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon - Home to the motorela, a four-wheeled variant invented by Rafael D. Floirendo in 1964, which encloses the motorcycle in a centered cabin and seats passengers sideways.
Cargo variants - The garong or kulong-kulong (literally "cage-like") is a flat-bed sidecar variant used across public markets to transport fish, vegetables, water bottles, and even live animals, as Wikipedia documents.
V. Contributions to the Local Economy and Livelihood
A. Direct Employment for Hundreds of Thousands
The tricycle sector is one of the largest sources of informal employment in the Philippines. Research from Scholars Academic and Scientific Publishers and studies published in the Philippine Journal of Labor and Industrial Relations confirm that tricycle driving is a primary livelihood for millions of Filipino families.
Daily earnings vary but typically range from PHP 300 to PHP 1,000 per day, depending on the area, the season, and competition. Before the arrival of cheap imported motorcycles around 2005, drivers could earn more, but globalization and the motorcycle boom have increased competition, as academic research has documented.
As one study put it: "Ask around and you'll find someone who says, 'My father's tricycle put me through college.' That's not just a line. That's the story of thousands of Filipino families."
B. The Sidecar Industry
Beyond drivers, the tricycle economy supports an entire cottage industry of welders, fabricators, and sidecar builders. In virtually every Philippine town, you'll find welding shops specializing in custom sidecar construction. This small-scale manufacturing sector provides employment and business opportunities for skilled tradesmen and their families. Sidecar fabrication has become its own sub-economy, with builders developing regional specialties and even competing on social media for clients.
C. Fuel, Parts, and Maintenance
Tricycles fuel the demand for motorcycle parts, tires, engine oil, and repair services, creating an ecosystem of small businesses. Gasoline stations, vulcanizing (tire repair) shops, and engine mechanics all depend heavily on tricycle traffic for their customer base.
VI. Movers of People, Goods, Fish, and Farm Products
A. The Last-Mile Connector
The tricycle's greatest contribution to Philippine communities is its role as the "last-mile" connector - bridging the gap between major roads served by buses and jeepneys and the interior barangays, residential areas, markets, ports, and schools that larger vehicles cannot reach. In many rural municipalities, tricycles are the only way to get from a main highway to a home, a farm, or a fishing port.
B. Cargo and Agricultural Transport
In agricultural and fishing towns, tricycles don't just carry people - they carry the economy itself. The cargo variant known as the kulong-kulong or garong is a workhorse at public markets, hauling crates of fish, sacks of rice, bundles of vegetables, containers of water, and even livestock. In coastal towns, tricycles ferry the daily catch from boat landings to market stalls, ice plants, and drying areas. In farming communities, they move harvested crops from fields to roads where larger trucks can pick them up.
VII. The Tricycle in Estancia, Iloilo: Lifeline of the "Alaska of the Philippines"
This is where the story gets deeply personal and locally specific.
A. Estancia: A Fishing Town Like No Other
Estancia, a compact municipality of roughly 35,000 people on the northeastern coast of Panay Island, is famously known as the "Little Alaska of the Philippines" - a moniker reportedly given by American visitors impressed by the sheer volume of fish passing through its port. As documented in the landmark study Estancia in Transition by the Institute of Philippine Culture, the fishing industry directly supports about 60 percent of the core community's families and indirectly contributes to nearly all others. Your own Estancia Times Documentary page has extensively chronicled how the Estancia feeder port serves as a central hub for the landing, processing, and distribution of fish and seafood.
The wholesale value of fish passing through Estancia has historically been enormous - representing a significant percentage of the commercial fish catch in the Philippines, with Manila-bound shipments accounting for 65-80% of the total during the fishing season.
B. The Tricycle's Role in Estancia's Economy
In Estancia, the tricycle is not merely transportation - it is an essential link in the fish supply chain. Here's how it works:
1. Port to Market - Every morning, as fishing boats return with their catch, tricycles (including cargo variants) ferry fresh fish from the Estancia feeder port to the public market, to drying areas (kamalig), and to ice plants. Multiple travel accounts confirm that a tricycle ride from the Estancia bus terminal to the port costs around PHP 10-20 per person.
2. Connecting to Nearby Towns - Tricycles connect Estancia to neighboring municipalities like Balasan, Batad, and Carles. One travel blogger describes taking a 20-minute tricycle ride from Balasan to Estancia for the day's activities. For fish dealers who buy in Estancia and sell in surrounding towns, the tricycle is often the vehicle of choice.
3. Gateway to the Islands - Estancia is also the jump-off point for Islas de Gigantes, Sicogon Island, and other island destinations. Tourists and locals alike rely on tricycles to get from the bus terminal to the port, as multiple travel guides confirm.
4. Agricultural Interior - Estancia's 11 interior barangays are primarily farming communities growing rice, coconut, and cassava. Tricycles provide their connection to the town proper for marketing their produce and purchasing supplies.
5. Market Day Hub - The IPC study describes Estancia's weekly Tuesday market day, when hundreds of vendors and thousands of buyers converge. Tricycles are the primary vehicles ferrying goods and people to and from this commercial heartbeat. Fish dealers hire tricycles and jeepneys to carry their purchases to nearby towns for resale.
C. Livelihood for Estancia's Drivers
In a town where the fishing industry's rhythms - the weekly market cycle, the monthly lunar fishing cycle, and the annual fish migration season - dictate the flow of cash, tricycle driving provides a complementary livelihood. During the sanag (the full-moon week when fishing stops), fishermen's families have less income; tricycle drivers, meanwhile, continue earning. For families not directly in the fishing business - the teachers, the vendors, the government workers - tricycles are the affordable daily transport to work and school.
VIII. The Tricycle Across Iloilo Province
Beyond Estancia, tricycles play a vital role across the 42 municipalities and 2 cities of Iloilo province:
Iloilo City - The provincial capital has implemented a Tricycle Route Plan to regulate routes and reduce congestion. The city has also been cracking down on unfranchised ("colorum") tricycles and piloting e-trike programs.
Passi City - As documented on YouTube, tricycles serve as the primary public transportation in this inland city, connecting the city proper to surrounding agricultural barangays.
Northern Iloilo towns (Carles, Balasan, Batad, Sara, Concepcion) - In these coastal and farming municipalities, tricycles are often the only motorized public transport, connecting fish ports, markets, farms, and schools across the rolling terrain.
The Iloilo-Antique Road corridor - Tricycles along this route are notably larger, seating 8-9 passengers and frequently carrying agricultural cargo on their reinforced rooftops.
IX. The Tricycle in Times of Crisis
The indispensability of tricycles became starkly visible during two major crises:
Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), November 2013
When Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated Estancia and the northern Iloilo coast, tricycles were among the first vehicles to resume operations, carrying relief goods, transporting the injured, and reconnecting shattered communities. In the aftermath of disasters, when roads are damaged and larger vehicles cannot pass, the nimble tricycle becomes a lifeline.
The COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2022
During lockdowns, tricycles were recognized as essential for transporting frontline health workers and delivering necessities. As Rappler reported, "There aren't enough government vehicles to convey essential service workers, and there are places only tricycles can reach in an emergency." The pandemic also ironically accelerated the adoption of electric tricycles as Filipinos sought affordable private mobility.
X. The Future: E-Trikes and Modernization
The Philippine tricycle is now at a crossroads. The government's Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) and growing environmental concerns are pushing toward electrification. As Rest of World reports, Filipinos have embraced electric three-wheelers at a pace that has outrun government regulation - most are assembled locally with parts imported from China, and many remain unregistered.
According to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, e-trikes now comprise 56.76% of all registered electric vehicles in the Philippines. Quezon City has announced plans to shift entirely to e-trikes by 2030.
Yet challenges remain - driver training, battery disposal, charging infrastructure, and the economic impact on existing conventional tricycle operators who may not be able to afford the transition.
XI. More Than Just a Ride
The red tricycle in your photo - gleaming in the rain on the streets of Estancia - is so much more than a vehicle. It's a piece of living history, tracing its lineage to Japanese wartime motorcycles repurposed by Filipino ingenuity. It's the vehicle that carries the day's catch from port to market, that takes students to NIPSC (Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College), that rushes a pregnant woman to the hospital, that connects the farming barrios to the commercial center.
Every tricycle tells a story. Some are painted with religious icons and family dedications. Some bear the marks of decades of welding repairs. All of them, in their own way, keep the Philippines moving.
As Discover Philippines beautifully concludes: "We took something once meant for battle and turned it into a symbol of survival and hustle. Because that's what Filipinos do. We rebuild, repurpose, and ride on."
The tricycle is the Philippines' humble chariot - unglamorous, sometimes uncomfortable, occasionally questionable in its safety standards - but always, always moving forward. In Estancia, in Iloilo, and across the 7,641 islands of the archipelago, it remains the heartbeat of community life.
References and Sources
1. Wikipedia - "Motorized Tricycle (Philippines)"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorized_tricycle_(Philippines)
2. Discover Philippines - "The Philippine Tricycle"
https://www.discoverphilippines.org/p/the-philippine-tricycle
3. Tuk Tuk 3-Wheelers (TukTukPH) - "The History of the Philippines Tricycle"
https://tuktukph.top/the-history-of-the-philippines-tricycle/
4. Facebook - Memories of Old Manila Group - "History of Tricycles and Pedicabs in the Philippines"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/memoriesoldmanila/posts/1232097693611748/
5. Reddit - r/FilipinoHistory - "How Did the Design of Tricycles in Our Country Originate and Evolve?"
https://www.reddit.com/r/FilipinoHistory/comments/1krmau4/
6. House of Representatives, Congress of the Philippines - House Bill No. 01983: Magna Carta for Tricycle Drivers and Operators
https://docs.congress.hrep.online/legisdocs/basic_20/HB01983.pdf
7. Statista - "Philippines: Number of Registered Private Motorcycles and Tricycles"
https://www.statista.com/statistics/708054/number-of-registered-private-motorcycles-and-tricycles-in-the-philippines/
8. Gulf News - "Philippines: Jeepneys and Tricycles - Game Over?"
https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/philippines/philippines-jeepneys-and-tricycles-game-over-1.1548007857224
9. Caught (up) in Traffic (d0ctrine.com) - "Public Transport in Iloilo"
https://d0ctrine.com/2025/11/27/public-transport-in-iloilo/
10. Iloilo City Government (Facebook) - "Task Force Tricycle Route Plan"
https://www.facebook.com/iloilocitygov/posts/1127603579402315/
11. AutoTrikes - "Why Is the Tricycle Famous in the Philippines?"
https://www.autotrikes.com/news/why-is-the-tricycle-famous-in-the-philippines/
12. Scribd - Research Paper - "Daily Lives and Earnings of Tricycle Drivers in Imus, Cavite"
https://www.scribd.com/document/887728849/Research
13. Institute of Philippine Culture / PSSC Archives - Estancia in Transition (No. 9), Chapter 1: Economic Activity in Estancia
https://pssc.org.ph/wp-content/pssc-archives/Institute%20of%20Philippine%20Culture/Papers/Estancia%20in%20Transition%20(No.%209)/Chapter%201-Economic%20Activity%20in%20Estancia.pdf
14. Facebook - Estancia Times Documentary
https://www.facebook.com/EstanciaTimesDocumentary/
15. Baron the Explorer (Blog) - "Estancia, Iloilo: Center of Commerce"
http://barontheexplorer.blogspot.com/2013/04/estancia-iloilo-center-of-commerce.html
16. Adrenaline Romance (Blog) - "Exotic Islas de Gigantes"
https://adrenalineromance.com/2016/07/07/exotic-islas-de-gigantes-a-teaser-for-a-well-deserved-summer-weekend-reward/
17. Rappler - "Pasig to Comply with Ban on Tricycles During Coronavirus Lockdown"
https://www.rappler.com/philippines/254824-vico-sotto-allows-limited-trips-tricycles-pasig-coronavirus-lockdown/
18. Rest of World - "Electric Three-Wheelers Philippines Regulations"
https://restofworld.org/2024/electric-three-wheelers-philippines-regulations/
19. TOJO Motors - "E-Trike Program"
https://www.tojomotors.com/etrike.html
20. Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) - "Infobits on the Percentage of Registered E-Trikes in the Philippines"
https://www.pids.gov.ph/details/resource/infographics-infobits/infobits-on-the-percentage-of-registered-e-trikes-in-the-philippines
21. Facebook - Fotothing Group - "Kuliglig Vehicle Description in the Philippines"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/fotothing/posts/10161289823653103/
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