IN his appearance during a House committee hearing on the legalization of habal-habal and Angkas, the “former political has-been” told committee members that Cebu’s economy will not survive and the Cebuanos cannot live if there are no motorcycles-for-hire. The “former political has-been” was invited in the committee hearing on the pending House Bill 6909, authored by Cebu City North Rep. Raul del Mar, which aims to legalize motorcyles-for-hire.
He said that Cebu’s economy would not survive without habal-habal. “The business process outsourcing (BPOs) alone bring P7 billion a month to Cebu City’s economy and almost half of the 150,000 BPOs working here are voice agents who work on western time. Because it is so stressful, the attrition rate in this sector is already four to eight percent event without taking away their main form of transportation.”
He added that 69 percent of the land area in the city is mountainous. Several residents are living there and they do not have efficient mass transit, that is why they use motorcyles-for-hire. He urged Congress to do something about it and stop treating the habal-habal drivers as criminals, who are forced to follow a law that is not serving them, adding that Congress should be more responsive to the needs of the ordinary people.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that Angkas, a mobile-hailing application, is illegal as it violates Republic Act 4136, or the Transportation and Traffic Code of the Philippines. Del Mar’s bill aims to amend this law to allow motorcycles-for-hire. Under the bill, local government units are mandated to issue franchises to motorcycles as means of public transport, adding that Cebu’s economy will not survive and we cannot live without habal-habal and Angkas is an overrated statement.
This is a view of a desperate person. While I support the legalization of motorcycles-for-hire because of its necessity, practicality and it is beneficial, I don’t think that by not legalizing them, it will have a negative impact on our economy. Necessity, in the sense, that it’s only the mode of transportation, especially in the mountainous areas. It is essential. Practical, yes, since it is a viable means of livelihood and beneficial to both drivers/operators and the riding public.
All BPO offices are in the city and almost all are accessible by any kind of transportation. There are jeepneys and taxi units operating during the night, and even in the wee hours of the morning. Besides, some call center agents have their own service vehicles. It is easy to apply nowadays for car loans and call centers can afford. Look at the I.T. center in Lahug, where most BPOs are located. You can hardly park because there are so many vehicles owned by employees there.
What was the mode of transportation in the rural areas before the proliferation of the habal-habal? Why the residents there survived all these years? The Land Transportation Office 7 and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board 7 suggested opening jeepney routes in the mountain barangays. But the problem are the four-wheeled vehicles that cannot access some rural areas because of bad roads. We have to improve first the infrastructure in remote areas. For sure, we can still live and our economy will still be as its best without the habal-habal.
The “former political has-been” is just using these habal-habal and Angkas issues to suit his political and personal agenda because it’s election time. He is portraying himself as a “savior” for this sector. There are, more or less, 7,000 habal-habal and Angkas drivers operating in the city. He even provided them with a sack of rice. But this is only a “short-term” solution. What this sector needs is a “long-term” solution through legalization of motorcycles-for-hire.