‘Too little time’ to legalize habal-habal operation

Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north district) on Saturday, Dec. 29, said a bill legalizing the operation of motorcycles-for-hire will unlikely be passed in the present Congress due to the limited time.

He said they will just pursue other alternatives to help the drivers of habal-habal and the motorcycle ride-hailing app Angkas so they can continue with their livelihood.

Del Mar said they only have 14 sessions left when the House of Representatives resumes on Jan. 14, 2019 and adjourns on Feb. 9.

“We might be able to approve a bill to legalize the transport of passengers by motorcycles in the House committee, second and third reading in the plenary in the House of Representatives but not certain the Senate will approve their version in time,” del Mar told Sunstar Cebu.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said Angkas is important because its members are the only means of transportation for residents of areas where public transportation like jeepneys and buses does not go.

Osmeña said that compared to habal-habal, Angkas is more efficient because its drivers are trained to follow traffic rules. They also help people get to work or school on time despite the traffic congestion in urban areas.

Last Dec. 23, Osmeña sponsored a mass at the Cebu City Sports Center where he announced to about 7,000 Angkas and habal-habal drivers that the City would give them a sack of rice age, provided they were registered voters in the city.

The Supreme Court recently declared that using the motorcycle, a two-wheeled vehicle, to transport passengers was illegal.

Director Victor Caindec of the Land Transportation Office 7 and Director Eduardo Montealto Jr. of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said that they cannot allow franchises to be issued to motorcycles because these are risky and dangerous.