House of Representatives (MANILA BULLETIN)

A commuter safety and protection advocate failed to hide his frustrations during a recent House Committee on Transportation hearing when he practically described as “useless” the Motorcycle Taxi-Technical Working Group (MC-TWG) of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

Lawyer Ariel Inton, a representative of the Lawyers for Commuter Safety and Protection, took part as a resource person in the transportation panel's hearing on the rather protracted pilot testing for motorcycle taxis being carried out by the MC-TWG. 

During the hearing, Inton assailed the legality of the TWG, which launched its pilot study way back in 2019. The pilot study has been limited to cover just three motorcycle-for-hire companies: Angkas, Joyride, and Grab Philippines' Move It. 

“We don’t know what kind of animal [the] TWG [is] … it has no legal personality,” Inton told the committee hearing chaired by Antipolo 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop. 

One of the lawyer's main issues with the TWG is its supposed inability to resolve or address complaints as to the conduct of motorcycle taxi services. 

“At kapag may complaint doon (If a complaint is lodged there), they could not decide. And if they decide, can they implement?” he said. 

"In other words … that’s the problem now because the TWG that was created, it was so limited as to the scope. Kaya po if we could recommend to Congress, the bigger House na tingnan po natin ‘yong creation ng TWG (That's why if we could recommend to Congress, the bigger House, for it to look into the creation of the TWG),” Inton said. 

But Acop told the lawyer that the Department of Transportation (DOTr), which oversees the LTFRB, has been mandated to “design the pilot program and select pilot areas for implementation nationwide”. 

It is also meant to “determine the most appropriate and reasonable rules and regulations on this mode of transportation to ensure utmost protection and safety of the riding public". 

Philippine Congress has yet to pass a law regulating motorcycle-for-hire services. 

In the same public hearing, Acop directed LTFRB Chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III to submit the findings of the pilot study that the MC-TWG was supposed to finish in 2021, so that Congress can act on pending legislation intended to finally legalize and regulate the growing motorcycle taxi industry. 

Guadiz replied that the MC-TWG will submit its report to the House panel “within 30 days".