How the Philippines became a left-hand-drive country
Excerpt
Today marks an important milestone for Philippine motoring because it was on March 10, 1945, that President Sergio Osmeña signed Executive Order No. 34, which directed Filipino motorists to drive on the right side of the road. Until that time, Philippine vehicles had been driven on the left side of the road, which meant our cars had been right-hand-drive (or with the steering wheel positioned on the right).
How the Philippines transitioned from driving on the left to driving on the right side of the road was apparently down to economics. As stated in the EO, changing the driving orientation was economically advantageous to the Philippines since it would “reduce the price of motor vehicles imported into the Philippines from the United States.”
