ANGKAS STOPPED; HABAL-HABAL HIT TOO
Supreme Court issues restraining order against Angkas but regional board says apprehension would include habal-habal because these are illegal in the first place
ILLEGAL RIDE. The Supreme Court has issued an order allowing authorities to intervene in the motorcycle ride-hailing app Angkas’s operations, indicating that Angkas drivers may now be apprehended. But the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board says all motorcycle drivers who take on paying passengers, with or without the aid of the Angkas application, are violators because such an operation has never been allowed by law.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said that all motorcycle drivers that take on paying passengers, with or without the aid of the Angkas application, will be apprehended, fined and their motorcycles impounded by the third violation.
LTFRB 7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr. said that from the beginning, the practice of motorcycles transporting passengers has been illegal and the government does not issue a franchise for this.
Montealto said that according to the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) of the Philippine National Police, road accidents are highest in Cebu with an average of three daily.
He noted that motorcycles operating in major thoroughfares move in between trucks, overtake big vehicles left and right, and ignore traffic rules and regulations.
Montealto recognized the fact that several people are patronizing these illegal motorcycles-for-hire, locally known as habal-habal, to avoid being stuck in traffic. He believes that motorcycles will not be patronized anymore if all the proposed mass transport systems will be realized.
For his part, Land Transportation Office (LTO) 7 Director Victor Emmanuel Caindec said that now that habal-habal or Angkas is considered patently illegal by the competent court, he will consult with the central office in Manila and other traffic law enforcement agencies like the LTFRB and the HPG for a joint operation against motorcycles.
Aside from the ride being risky and dangerous, Caindec said motorcycle passengers have no accident insurance because the operation is illegal from the beginning.
The Supreme Court (SC), last Wednesday, Dec. 12, issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against a Mandaluyong court ruling that barred authorities from intervening in the motorcycle ride-hailing firm’s operations, indicating that Angkas drivers may now be apprehended.
The Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court earlier granted Angkas a preliminary injunction, preventing the Department of Transportation (DOTr) from blocking its operations.
The order, however, was appealed by the DOTr and LTFRB before the Supreme Court, saying Angkas’s operation is illegal.
“Our position is that motorcycles registered in the service are not authorized to conduct business and offer public transport under Republic Act 4136. For them to be allowed, the law has to be amended by Congress,” the DOTr and LTFRB said in a joint statement.
Angkas, in a statement, said it was saddened by the SC’s issuance of a TRO, saying that “this comes at a time when hundreds of thousands of commuters need the Angkas service to beat the worsening holiday traffic.”
“This TRO also puts the livelihood of 25,000 biker-partners at risk a few days before Christmas, when their families need it the most,” it said.
Angkas vowed that it will continue its fight “to serve commuters in a safe and efficient manner, as well as legitimizing our riders.”
Asked for comment, DOTr communications director Goddes Libiran said the LFTRB sheriffs may now apprehend Angkas drivers.
Angkas made lemonade out of its fate by creating a promo.
“It’s better to give than to receive!” Angkas announced on its Facebook page. “Kung may TRO kami, kayo din meron. Hihi. (If we have a TRO, you get a TRO as well. (Laugh). Two rides only.”
Using the promo code AngkasTRO, a passenger will get P99 off on two rides.
Although he sympathizes with the drivers of Angkas, Cebu City Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr. believes the TRO issued by the SC against the motorcycle-hailing app is a “wake-up call,” especially for Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña.
The administration would have wanted the City Government to enter into a joint venture agreement with Angkas to use its system in providing motorcycle services to the city’s constituents.
Since last October, the City Government has been working on programs to organize habal-habal drivers.
Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) operations chief Francisco Ouano said that records from their office showed there are around 6,000 habal-habal drivers who operate in the city’s 80 barangays.
The CCTO, though, will not apprehend habal-habal drivers registered or not with Angkas.
“Dili man ta kadakop kay ang atoa is on the no license and no registration man (We cannot apprehend because we are only concerned about those without license and registration),” Ouano said.
Ouano personally supports Angkas, saying that it’s more comfortable and safer for passengers since it has an insurance policy.