House vows to pass law on motorcycle taxis by March

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has vowed to come up by March with a legislative measure that would legitimize and regulate motorcycle ride-hailing services in the country.

The committees on Metro Manila development and transportation have committed to complete deliberations on bills seeking to amend Republic Act 4136 (Land Transportation and Traffic Code) to make motorcycle taxi services legal in two months.

Metro Manila development panel chair and Manila District 1 Rep. Manny Lopez said they plan to pass the measure and have the law signed in time for the conclusion of the pilot study of the technical working group (TWG) of the Department of Transportation on the services of Angkas, JoyRide and Move It.

Lopez said the measure is considered urgent as it would provide the legal backing for operations of the motorcycle taxi services that benefit the riding public.

He explained that the law would legitimize and regulate motorcycles as a public utility vehicle, pointing out that RA 4136 does not allow motorcycles to be used as PUVs.

For this purpose, he asked TWG head Antonio Gardiola Jr. to periodically submit data to the committee throughout the extended pilot testing to aid legislators in crafting the necessary law.

“We have to be proactive in crafting the law, but how can we do that when there’s no available empirical data?” he lamented during the hearing.

Gardiola explained that they don’t have sufficient data because the initial six months of the pilot study only covered Angkas and did not include new players JoyRide and Move It.

Transportation panel chair and Samar Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento made the same commitment to pass the measure by March.

Lopez said they would make sure that the law would include provisions on fair market competition.