Habal-habal regulation sought anew in council

CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña welcomed a proposed ordinance, reintroduced for the third time before the Cebu City Council, which seeks to regulate motorcycles-for-hire or habal-habal operations in Cebu City.

“Of course. I’ve been trying to do that. I even went to Manila to speak before the House’s congressional committee in support of (motorcycle ride booking service) Angkas … At least people will know they have a higher element of safety,” said Osmeña.

But the mayor slammed the author of the proposed ordinance, Cebu City Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr. of Barug Team Rama party, for purportedly rehashing Osmeña’s initiative which was announced in October 2016.

“Sila nagsakay lang sila. Mao na ilang style para sila muangkon (They’re just joining in the bandwagon. It’s their style to take credit),” said Osmeña.
Reached for comment, Alcover explained that what he introduced in the city council was a localized version of a proposal he had before the House of Representatives back when he was still a party-list representative of the Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD) in 2012.

“What’s he talking about? I filed House Bill No. 6046 to regularize the operations of all habal-habal in the country in 2012. I was not able to pursue it further because I was disqualified when our party was deemed disqualified by the Comelec (Commission on Elections) in 2013,” Alcover said.

During their regular session last April 3, the Cebu City Council once again, referred the proposed ordinance to the committee on laws for review.
Alcover first introduced the ordinance in September 2016, and again in April 2017.

On both instances, the proposal was referred to the laws committee which advised Alcover in 2017 to replace the word ‘franchise’ with ‘regulation’ since only the national government and not Local Government Units (LGUs) could issue franchises.

In his resolution, Alcover said that it was urgent to regulate habal-habal operations in Cebu City to instill discipline among drivers and operators and to ensure the safety of their riders.

Under the proposal, habal-habal operators will have to pay a P250 registration fee before the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO).

If approved, operators and drivers who cannot show any proof of registration to traffic enforcers will pay a fine of P500.

AMENDMENTS

Alcover said that he was open to any suggestions regarding the proposed ordinance.

“I have no problem with their suggestions. No problem at all. Because the important thing here is to regulate the habal-habal for the safety of our commuters,” he said.

Earlier yesterday, Osmeña suggested that there should be no registration fee to regulate habal-habal operations in Cebu City.

“In my mind we’re not going to put any registration fee. It helps everybody and then the city is not interested in making money. We’re interested on providing service. This is not a business for the city. That’s the job of the government,” Osmeña said.

The mayor also planned on replicating the hailing system of Angkas.

“We’re still negotiating with Angkas. The difference between Angkas and us is that Angkas collects 20 percent. We will not collect 20 percent from the drivers. We might pay a consultancy fee to help us in running it. We’re trying to piece it back together again,” Osmeña explained.

Last November, Osmeña announced plans to hire Angkas’ management services and use their online booking system.

He said that since the city government was not capable of handling bookings, the company will have to provide the application.

Osmeña was also invited to a House hearing in January to discuss proposals to regulate the operation of habal-habal as a possible measure to deter criminals riding-in-tandem.