“The promise of an expanded railway network around Metro Manila to ease the current traffic congestion is not on the horizon, yet.”
The patience of our Filipino commuters is being taxed to the limit nowadays, given the heavy traffic they have to endure daily.
The promise of an expanded railway network around Metro Manila to ease the current traffic congestion is not on the horizon, yet. Clearly, the logjam in the metropolis will require at least a short-term remedy.
Fortunately, private transportation companies have offered solutions to the gridlock but they all need the support of the government and lawmakers, in particular, in easing the Metro Manila bedlam.
One quick fix is in the form of motorcycle taxis. They have been actually part of the menu of transport options available to Filipino commuters in Metro Manila for years—but it is only recently that there has been a serious push to finally pass legislation to legalize this mode of transportation.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is aware of the traffic gridlock, conceding that “more transport options will benefit commuters, drivers and MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises).”
Yes, motorcycle taxis drive the economy, create jobs and provide livelihood to our small entrepreneurs.
One of the country’s major transportation network companies (TNCs) created more than 100,000 driver and operator jobs and digitalized over 15,000 MSMEs between 2019 and 2021. This is credited for easing the national unemployment rate by 1.1 percent to 1.6 percent in that time frame.
Economists at the University of Asia and the Pacific estimate that the app of the same Singapore-based TNC contributed P37 billion to P165.6 billion to our gross domestic product in the same period. A study revealed that the app-based transport company, unlike other modes of transportation, had a 3.42 multiplier effect. This means that for every P100 spent on the app, the economy obtains an additional P342 in output.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez recognized the contribution of the TNCs and vowed Congress would prioritize the passage of a motorcycle taxi law.
The legalization of motorcycle taxis and the relaxation of regulations on Transportation Network Vehicle Service, or TNVS, he says, “align with our goals to provide more choices for passengers, drivers and businesses, particularly MSMEs.”
The House Committee on Transportation is reviewing and finalizing the bill. For years, motorcycle taxis have been operating under a pilot program. But despite the success of the pilot program, the legalization process has dragged on.
It is clear in hearings that the Transportation Committee wants to finally get this done, thanks to the efforts of chairperson Rep. Romeo Acop.
The Lower House, however, must get its act together. While the transportation panel is diligently finalizing the provisions of the bill, another panel—the Committee on Metro Manila Development (MMD)––is conducting parallel hearings on the same topic.
Conducting simultaneous hearings sows confusion. The pertinent points raised in one committee could be addressed within the main hearing where the bill’s provisions are being finalized.
The MMD Committee, for instance, discussed at length the need to study and evaluate the impact of motorcycle taxis on other transportation modes. Representatives of other PUVs―tricycles, jeepneys, and taxis―complained about how their incomes were affected by the proliferation of two-wheeled taxis―the very same issues they raised in the first Transportation Committee hearing called to finalize the motorcycle-for-hire bill.
They are exactly the same issues already addressed by 1-RIDER Party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez in the March 7 hearing, where he stressed “there is no question on the fact on whether or not there will be limits, because there will be limits.” The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board as the regulatory body will assess and approve the routes and number of motorcycle taxis that may be allowed to ply the roads of Metro Manila and beyond.
Our lawmakers should remember that having simultaneous hearings on the same (or similar) subjects forces agencies to send more officials and personnel to Congress. If all these agency leaders (and their staff) are in the House answering the queries of legislators, who is left at department offices to address the other needs of the public?
One wonders about the real reason behind the simultaneous hearings and the call for a moratorium on adding new players in the ongoing pilot program. Is somebody protecting entrenched players who are finding it hard to compete commercially in a more competitive landscape? Are the players who’ve enjoyed a monopoly during the past five years now finding the space too tight and, thus, want to revert to the status quo?
For a country that wants to tell the world that we are open for business, developments such as these and the ensuing confusion in the legislative process can have detrimental effects on investor confidence.
Potential investors have always been wary of our regulatory environment and the inconsistencies in Philippine government policies. The prolonged discussions and uncertainties surrounding the legalization of motorcycle taxis only exacerbate these concerns.
E-mail: rayenano@yahoo.com or extrastory2000@gmail.com
