One of the proponents of the measure endorsing the use of motorcycle taxis welcomed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s instruction to Congress to prioritize its passage in a bid to ease the burden of commuters.
“With this prioritization by no less than our President, and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, we are hopeful, I think, sometime in the next few weeks, we’ll already be having our fourth technical working group meeting perhaps,” 1-Rider party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez told reporters in a briefing.
Gutierrez is a co-author of his colleague, of 1-Rider party-list Rep. Bonficio Bosita, of House Bill (HB) 3412.
“Hopefully in the next few months the House version would be done. And we have good expectation on this that even the DOTr-TWG will come up with results,” the Assistant Minority Leader said, noting that nothing fruitful was reached in their last three TWG meetings.
“Definitely, I think, if the priority is granted to this bill, hopefully before SONA (state of the nation address) this bill be done, at the very least I would say,” Gutierrez said. “That’s based on just our assumption—just to be clear this is our personal assumption.”
“Definitely, this has already been fast-tracked given that prioritization by the President and the Speaker,” he added. Romualdez notified House members over the weekend about the directive of the President to expedite measures that will help mitigate the daily burden of commuters in public transport, like the proposal to utilize motorcycle taxis.
“This legislative move is in direct response to President Marcos’ advocacy for increased transportation options for the Filipino people, as demonstrated by his su port for the legalization of motorcycle taxis and the easing of TNVS regulations,” the Speaker said. HB 3412 proposes to legalize motorcycles as public transportation vehicles and reform the transportation network vehicle service regulations.
Romualdez said the President’s stance was expressed following his meeting with officials from Grab Holdings Inc. at Malacañang, underscoring the need for diverse and accessible transportation
solutions.
“The maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty, and property, and the promotion of the general welfare are foundational to our democracy. It’s imperative to adapt our laws to the evolving transportation landscape to ensure the well-being and convenience of our citizens,” he said.