Angkas says rider killed in Mandaue accident not from them

MANILA, Philippines – Motorcycle taxi company Angkas has cleared rumors that the rider involved in a deadly accident in Mandaue, Cebu was not registered with them, contrary to reports from news organizations.

According to Angkas’ chief transport advocate George Royeca, they have confirmed with local officials that the accident last January 22 in Mandaue — which killed the rider and the passenger — did not involve one of their riders.

“It has come to our attention that there have been false reports of one of our bikers being involved in a truck accident in Cebu,” Royeca said in a statement on Thursday.

“We would like to clarify that the biker involved was not from Angkas and we’ve coordinated with local police and have confirmed this,” he added.

Reports last January said that the accident happened along M.C. Briones Street corner A.S. Fortuna Street in Barangay Guizo.  Investigation showed that a truck was occupying the first lane of the road, and the two riders aboard the motorcycle, on the second lane.

However, the motorcycle suddenly swerved to the left, hitting the truck and then throwing the two off the bike.  Both landed on the concrete road.

The victims were brought to a nearby hospital but were eventually declared dead on arrival.

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Angkas warned the public against sharing articles that may have been designed to tarnish the on-going pilot testing period that is geared towards studying the viability and safety of motorcycle taxis.

The pilot testing is a project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), in line with the technical working group (TWG) created by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

“We also want to warn the public against people who intentionally publish libelous articles for the purpose of tainting the motorcycle taxi pilot run, which we — together with the DOTr, LTFRB, TWG, and other motorcycle taxi players — have all been working hard for,” Royeca explained.

“If the pilot run fails, the riding public may no longer have any alternative transport option.  As such, we seek the public’s help to be vigilant with these fake stories and we assure them that we will not take this continuous maligning lightly,” he added.