Help #SaveAngkas and support the Filipino riding public

On December 12, 2018, the Supreme Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against a previous RTC injunction that prevented the LTFRB from apprehending Angkas riders. The TRO does NOT suspend Angkas' operations, but merely allows the LTFRB to once again apprehend Angkas bikers if they choose to do so.

The LTFRB, through various channels, has made clear its intent to crackdown on Angkas bikers, citing a very narrow interpretation of the law, and its supposed lack of options to aid Angkas and its bikers. Yet we have on various occasions presented the LTFRB with various options to move forward together.

Last December 2017, Angkas voluntarily suspended its operations to dialogue with the LTFRB. We proposed a pilot program of the Angkas service with the very purpose of determining its feasibility for the Metro under the agency's close watch and supervision. The proposal was declined despite evidence presented of our safety track record and the genuine service we were able to provide to hundreds of thousands of commuters.

Then in May 2018, Congressional committee on Metro Manila Development chaired by Hon. Winston "Winnie" T. Castelo urged the LTFRB to include Motorcycle Taxis as a type of TNVS, citing the precedent of the LTFRB allowing private 4-wheeled vehicles to be used for passenger services as in the cases of Uber and Grab. They were given 30 days to review the legal and regulatory implications of such a move, yet no action was taken.

The LTFRB has, on at least 2 occasions, passed up the chance to work with Congress and the private sector to provide safe and efficient transport alternatives to Filipinos, despite having numerous setbacks and delays in their own efforts to modernize mass transport systems in the country.

Thus far the LTFRB continues to insist that motorcycles are unfit for passenger transport due to safety issues, yet has consistently ignored Angkas' safety record as well as proof of the precautions it takes to ensure passenger safety, including biker training, quality helmets, and accident insurance.

Angkas' safety record currently stands at 99.997%, above and beyond the rates cited by government agencies to claim otherwise. It is a testament not only to the viability of using motorcycles for safe passenger services, but also of the massive improvements that a single committed organization can make to professionalize an industry.

The LTFRB continues to insist that safety is its top priority, yet we beg to insist otherwise: their first priority should be moving the Filipino people, then figuring out how to make them safe while doing so.

Habal-habal has been around for decades, and will continue to exist so long as Filipinos continue to lack decent transport options. And while the LTFRB insists their crackdowns will fix this dismal situation, we ourselves have already trained and educated over 70,000 motorcycle drivers – free of charge - all over the country in less than 2 years.

There are over 14 million motorcycle drivers all over the Philippines, most without any formal training. Only by working together can we hope to make more of them better and safer, without having to take away their only means of transportation.