Angkas continuously supports PH gov’t in urging Filipinos to become entrepreneurs

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MANILA, Philippines — Angkas CEO George Royeca expressed his continued support to help the Philippine government in pushing more Filipinos to start their own businesses.

During the 2022 National Productivity Conference organized by the National Wages Productivity Commission in partnership with the Department of Labor, Royeca said his motorcycle taxi company Angkas will continuously provide the necessary education and training to interested motorcycle owners in order for them develop a skill set that would help earn extra income using two wheels.

In fact, Tesda and Angkas had already launched a well-designed basic motorcycle training program last April to capacitate Filipino riders. “Galing sa dating pinapasara ng gobyerno–ngayon kapit-bisig–partners na kami ng gobyerno sa adbokasiya na gawing maayos at disenteng negosyo ang pag-aangkas sa motorsiklo,” Royeca said.

DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, the keynote speaker during the conference, also recognized the crucial role of the country’s MSMEs in driving the economy forward. Laguesma said MSMEs are at the forefront of entrepreneurial innovation citing the rise of technological entrepreneurs during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Indeed, there can be no sustainable and inclusive growth without MSMEs. They are important in driving growth and creating income opportunities for workers. The challenge now is the quality of jobs–full time, decent, and green jobs,” Laguesma said.

The Labor Secretary reiterated that DOLE will continue to provide Filipinos with the skills, knowledge, and attitude needed to meet the transformation and demands of the 21st century.

“We will provide training opportunities, access to digital skills especially to those with limited access. These training will help us achieve social equity–a key element in realizing inclusive growth,” Laguesma shared.

Royeca, for his part, recognized the importance of investing in people. He shared how they invested time and effort in training and educating riders in Angkas which in turn, helped them become productive citizens of the country.

“We invested in people otherwise disregarded by the society–ah, kamote driver yan, itong taong tambay sa karinderiya na iniiwasan mo pag uuwi ka–they didn’t know any better. We took care of them. We took time to equip them. We invested in them. And I’m proud to say that because we believed in them, they became pillars of our community. After millions of rides, you know what our accident rate is? .003%. Less than 1%. Sobrang laki ng balik,” Royeca said.

The staunch transport advocate reiterated that the government should harness the power of the country’s gig economy because this helps empower local communities and helps build the foundation of creating more productive Filipinos.

Royeca said, “Picture po natin, because of your policy, any individual na merong skill set can be his own business and can be his own source of livelihood. Picture a day na ang isang graphic artist po ay lumapit sa inyo at pilit na nag papasalamat dahil nabigyan nyo sya ng ibang option other than being a security guard. Picture a day when you’ve created millions of jobs overnight just by simply recognizing what was once thought of as informal pero nagbibigay ng kontribusyon sa ating ekonomiya. A few years ago, we also pictured a day na yung sinasabi nilang hindi ligtas at  kamote na habal habal ay naging isang propesyonal at ligtas na motorcycle taxi driver.”

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