Motorcycle taxi operator Angkas is in no position to question the decision of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to reduce its riders to 10,000, PBA party-list Representative Jericho Nograles said Wednesday.
In a statement, Nograles said Angkas should even be thankful that it was allowed to operate even without a governing law.
According to Nograles, Angkas' documents show that it is 98% foreign-owned. This alone should serve as a basis for the shutdown of its entire operations as it is a clear violation of a constitutional provision requiring all public utility companies in the country should 60% Filipino-owned, he said.
Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta party-list Representative Jericho Nograles, Unang Hirit, Jan. 16, 2018
In a statement also on Wednesday, Angkas said that it had "corrected" the foreign ownership issue, with chief transport advocate George Royeca declaring that he owns 60% of the venture.
Royeca said that the remaining 40% ownership is divided among five individuals, including Singaporean Angeline Xiwen Tham, who was earlier identified by the Department of Transportation's interagency technical working group as owning over 99% of the ride-hailing firm.
Nograles said that Angkas' operations are just within the pilot run and that it is not covered by any government franchise.
"May naipasa na House Bill 8959 na pinapayagan ang motorcyles-for-hire kaso kinapos ang oras na 'yung Senado at hindi sila nakapasa ng counterpart bill. So ang sitwasyon po sa Kongreso ay pending po lahat ang mga bills na ito at nag-aantay po tayo ng hearing. For the meantime, ang legal status ng motorcyle-for-hire ay wala pa talaga silang totoong prangkisa at sila ay naka-test mode," Nograles said in a radio interview.
"Ang tanong: may legal basis ba ang gobyerno na bawasan ng gobyerno ang test vehicles? Ang sagot diyan ay yes, may legal basis ang gobyerno dahil wala pang karapatan na mag-operate ang motorcycle-for-hire ang mga Angkas, Joyride et cetera, at kailangan nilang sumunod sa patakaran," he added.
Considering that Angkas is only in "test mode," Nograles said, it has no choice but to follow the directives of the LTFRB, or else it will be made to pay hefty fines for violation of the existing law on public conveyances.
He said the LTFRB could fine Angkas a penalty of P6,000 per motorcycle per day for operating without a license.
"Dapat nga silang magpasalamat na mayroong pilot dahil wala talaga sa batas na pinapayagan ang motorycle para sa mga pasahero," Nograles said.
Nograles said the absence of a law that governs ride-hailing services like Grab and Angkas is primarily because of the confusion with regard to their existence. Hence, Congress should fast-track its deliberation and passage of the measures setting the parameters of their nature and operation.
"Ang kailangan gawin dito ay ang Committee on Transportation ng Kongreso ay dinggin na nila at magdebate na kung pahintulutan ba natin na ang motorsiklo ay gawing for hire," he said.
"pangalawa, sino ang magbibigay ng prangkisa o kung kelangan pa ng prangkisa at ang pangatlo ay ang issue sa ownership, " he added. — BM, GMA News
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This article first appeared on GMA News.
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