House Speaker Martin Romualdez (left), President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Speaker’s office)

1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez believes that the bill espousing the use of motorcycle taxis (MC taxis) will get fast-tracked in the House of Representatives following the endorsements given by President Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez. 

“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," Gutierrez told reporters in a press conference 

Gutierrez and his fellow 1-Rider Party-list nominee, Rep. Bonficio Bosita authored House Bill (HB) No.3412, titled "An Act regulating the operation of motorcycles-for-hire". 

“Hopefully in the next few months the House version would be done. And we have good expectation on this that even the DOTr-TWG (Department of Transportation-Technical Working Group) will come up with results,” said Gutierrez, an assistant minority leader. 

He noted that nothing fruitful was reached in their first three TWG meetings.  

“Definitely, this has already been fast-tracked given that prioritization by the President and the Speaker...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. That’s based on just our assumption--just to be clear this is our personal assumption,” he explained. 

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 support for the legalization of motorcycle taxis and the easing of TNVS regulations,” the Speaker said.  

The Bosita-Gutierrez bill seeks 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.