MANILA, Philippines - The first all-Filipino mass transport system dubbed the Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) system will soon be built on the Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines (UP).

On Monday, July 18, UP will sign a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) to formally set UP Diliman as the site of the prototype of the AGT.

A groundbreaking ceremony at the corner of Emilio Jacinto Street and Lakandala Street in the campus will immediately follow.

The event is a result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by UP and DOST last January, which specifies that the AGT prototype will have 2 60-passenger coaches running on one track.

The AGT is expected to play an important role in the UP community and in the study of alternative mass transport systems, said UP in a statement.

DOST Secretary Mario Montejo earlier said that the cost of studying and creating a local AGT system is a lot cheaper at one-fifth of the cost of importing a unit from abroad.

The local AGT system is also seen as a peek into the future of mass transport systems made by Filipinos.

Senator Edgardo Angara, former UP President and Chair of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, is expected to attend the July 18 event along with Montejo and DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas.