LTFRB chief: Motorcycle taxi law to fix transport system gaps

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III urged Tuesday the passage of a law that would regulate the motorcycle ride-hailing sector, noting that this would fill the gaps in the imperfect transportation system.

"Tapos na po sa House of Representatives. Ngayon po ang bola ay nasa Senado na... and we're hoping to beat the deadline which is bago mag-bow out ang 19th Congress. Sana maipasa na po nila," Guadiz told reporters in an interview.

(The House of Representatives has already passed their version. The ball now is on the Senate's court. And we're hoping to beat the deadline, which is before the 19th Congress ends.)

The LTFRB chief said the authority for motorcycles-for-hire companies to operate was the pilot study that was required for the crafting of the law during the 19th Congress.

"Remember, a motorcycle is per se iligal as a mode of transport. Naging legal lang 'yan because of a pilot study being made... 'Pag nag-bow out si 19th Congress, mawawala ang MC (motorcycle) taxi. Mawawalan ng hanabuhay ang ating mga riders," he said.

(Remember, a motorcycle is per se illegal as a mode of transport. That only became legal because of the pilot study being made. Once the 19th Congress ends, the motorcycle taxis are no longer allowed to operate. Our motorcycle riders will lose their livelihood.)

In supporting the need to legalize motorcycles-for-hire, Guadiz said this mode of transportation will fill the gaps of the "imperfect" land transportation system.

"For purposes ng flexibility sa transportation system natin. Hindi perpekto 'yung transport system natin ngayon. Kung minsan ho kinakapos ng jeep, kung minsan ho kinakapos ng mga bus. In between, who fills in the gap 'pag nawala si jeep or kinulang si jeep at kinulang si bus? Ito pong mga motorcycle taxi," he said.

(We need this for purposes of flexibility of our transportation system. The current transport system is not perfect. Sometimes the number of jeepneys and buses are not enough. In between, who fills in the gap when the number of jeepneys and buses are not enough? The motorcycle taxis.)

Apart from this, the LTFRB chief said this would help the livelihood of roughly 60,000 riders whom he said earns an average of P1,000 to P2,000 per day.

Further, Guadiz said failure to enact the law for MC taxis will worsen the current problem of "habal-habal," or illegal motorcycle rides.

"Mas lalala po. Sa ngayon po, malaki na po ang problema natin. Ang dami ng habal-habal. Ibig sabihin, walang protection si pasahero 'pag na-disgrasya po," he said.

(It's a big problem now. There are so many habal-habal riders. This means that passengers have no protection should they get into accidents.)

"'Pag nawalan po tayo ng batas that would cover motorcycle taxi, lahat ng mga motorcycle taxi na nakikita natin sa daan ay magiging habal-habal po 'yan (If we don't enact laws for motorcycle taxis, all of the motorcycle taxis that we see right now will become habal-habal rides). And that would pose a bigger transport problem, that would pose a bigger problem on the economy maraming mawawalan po ng trabaho (many people will lose their jobs)," he added.

During the Senate public services committee hearing earlier today, Senator Grace Poe, former chairperson of the panel, said that it is the ripe time to legalize motorcycles as a form of transportation in the Philippines.

"There is overwhelming data, backed by consumer demand, supporting the permanent integration of motorcycles into our public transportation landscape....The motorcycle-for-hire bill has been through the long and winding road to passage. Our tank is full. It is now time to start our engines and put our years of work into motion," Poe said.

"With a rapidly expanding sector, it is not only a necessity, but an imperative to institutionalize a regulatory framework governing motorcycle-for-hire operations... I think we can all agree that we have gathered enough data to craft a regulatory framework that is dynamic and responsive to the needs of the commuting public and the industry stakeholders," she added. — VDV, GMA Integrated News