Should the Cebu City government make good on its promise to hire the motorcycle-for-hire (habal-habal) riding service Angkas to operate within the city area, there are at least two scenarios worth considering.
One is that it will set a legal precedent for other local governments to follow. Under a scheme initiated by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, the citygovernment will contract their services and use their online booking system while allowing the drivers to keep their income intact, with no percentage given to the company.
In effect, Angkas will be paid by the city government to service the city’s commuters while enabling and further incentivizing their 2,000 members to perform better to the benefit of the riding public.
Since Cebu City is a lucrative market, Angkas may want to consider City Hall’s offer while they seek to persuade the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to reconsider their application.
Not to be outdone, City Councilor Philip Zafra proposed that the city’s barangays should conduct profiling of the Angkas members and then endorse them to the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO).
We don’t expect the mayor to agree to this owing to the fact that Zafra is president of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) and is affiliated with the rival Barug Team Rama bloc in the City Council.
Zafra’s allies in the council have questioned the mayor’s proposal and suggested that it be first studied by the City Legal Office. Anyone monitoring the situation knows that under the law, two-wheeled vehicles aren’t allowed to service commuters due to safety concerns.
In initiating the hiring of Angkas, the Cebu City government is willing to provide a viable albeit questionable mass transport choice to the riding public. Safety being the primary concern, the burden of ensuring the safety and convenience of commuters now falls squarely on City Hall’s shoulders.
Apparently, this prospect doesn’t faze the administration which is looking towards instituting laws to fully regulate the operations of habal-habal drivers. In return, we are encouraged to see habal-habal drivers making efforts to professionalize their ranks, though much effort is still required to make themselves a strong enough presence for the LTFRB to consider as a reliable mass transport service.
We’re not even talking about how allowing habal-habal operations will impact on the city’s worsening traffic congestion. The immediate effect would be that more people will be serviced especially those living in the mountain barangays.
True, there are abuses of some drivers, but if the city takes the lead in overseeing the operations of Angkas in particular and the habal-habal drivers in general, more city commuters may avail of their services and ride to their destinations in relative safety and comfort.
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