BECAUSE it provides an alternative mode of public transportation, especially in rural areas, the Provincial Board (PB) supports the measure that seeks to allow and regulate the use of motorcycles as public utility vehicles.
The move came two weeks after the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading last Feb. 4 House Bill (HB) 8959, which allows the use and regulation of motorcycles for this purpose.
The bill’s approval came two days before Congress adjourned for the campaign period for the midterm elections in May.
In his resolution approved last Feb. 18, PB Member Jude Thaddeus Sybico said that even in urban areas, the operation of motorcycle taxis would contribute a “more efficient road space-passenger ratio” compared to private cars and sports utility vehicles.
Sybico said he saw no politicking in the proposed measure despite the May 13 elections just months away.
“Contrary to the view expressed by some that this bill is but a cunning decoy meant to entice a large segment of voters composed of motorcycle-for-hire drivers, since the Congress is already in recess and hence is without time to complete the due enactment of a statute,” he said in his resolution.
Section 3 of HB 8959 defines a motorcycle-for-hire as “any two-wheeled motor vehicle that may be registered with the Land Transportation Office as for hire and may be used as a commercial vehicle to transport passengers and goods, provided that for transporting passengers, the motorcycle shall have a minimum engine displacement of 125 cubic centimeters and a backbone-type built.”
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north district), Rep. Red Durano (Cebu, 5th district) and Rep. Arthur Yap (Bohol, 3rd district), among others.