PILOT RUN The government has allowed Angkas to operate only in Metro Manila and Cebu City for a pilot run as it studies the viability of motorcycles as a mode of public transportation. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Motorcycles belonging to drivers affiliated with popular bike-hailing service Angkas were seized here recently by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for operating illegally in the provincial capital of Misamis Oriental.
The interagency technical working group (TWG) overseeing a study meant to assess the viability of motorcycles as a means of public transportation has allowed Angkas to operate only in Metro Manila and Cebu City.
Complaints
“Acting on several complaints, the LTFRB Region 10 (Northern Mindanao) office in Cagayan de Oro swiftly conducted the operation against several units of Angkas, which [were] reported to have been violating the terms of the motorcycle taxi pilot study,” the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on Facebook.
Aminoden Guro, LTFRB regional director, said six motorcycles were impounded on Dec. 23 on orders of LTFRB Chair Martin Delgra III.
“Only Metro Manila and Cebu were given permits to operate for six months while the TWG is working on how to legalize Angkas,” Guro said in an online interview on Sunday.
A photo accompanying the DOTr post showed five impounded motorcycles, while a separate picture featured LTFRB officials posing with six men in Angkas uniform.
Warning
Guro warned all Angkas drivers in Cagayan de Oro that the LTFRB would impound their motorcycles if they continued defying its order.
“In fact, before the apprehension, I advised and warned Jerome Angcono, Angkas Caga¬yan de Oro manager, not to
operate,” he added.
“Under current transport laws, motorcycles are strictly prohibited from being utilized as public transportation,” said the DOTr, adding that the TWG study would “help Congress formulate a new law which would enable motorcycles to be considered as a new public transportation mode.”
Tension between the LTFRB
and Angkas spilled into the open in the run-up to Christmas after the TWG released a new set of guidelines for the second phase of the pilot test, igniting controversy because it placed a cap on the number of Angkas drivers.
The transport network company (TNC) is allowed only 10,000 partner drivers under the new guidelines, compared to the 27,000 it employed in the first phase of the test.
Word war
The word war between the upstart TNC and the government has only escalated since then, with the TWG releasing a statement on Saturday that accused Angkas of behavior that disregarded multiple laws, including conducting business outside designated pilot run areas.
It also denounced the company for failing to disclose it was “99.996-percent owned”by a Singaporean, in violation of Philippine laws that state common carriers must be at least 60-percent Filipino-owned.
Netizens did not take kindly to the apprehension of Angkas drivers. A post on Twitter that currently has more than 1,000 likes chided the LTFRB for “making the traffic situation in [Cagayan de Oro] worse”by impounding the motorcycles.