“Where’s the report?” This was the damning question raised today, July 22, by members of the House of Representatives to Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Edgar Galvante with regard to the results of the motorcycle-taxi pilot run that began last year.
Party-list Representative Sharon S. Garin, chairperson of the House Committee on Transportation, grilled Galvante on the long-delayed submission of the report. The pilot run, in which motorcycle-taxi companies Angkas, JoyRide, and Move It participated, ended in March.
Garin was displeased when Galvante, who is the chairman of the technical working group (TWG) formed by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to oversee the program, failed to give a definite date for the submission of the report.
“Sir, sorry. I mean, you have to understand the urgency of the matter here. We’re talking about livelihood, life, and health here,” she said. “Even us, in Congress, we’re not supposed to be in session right now. We work from 9am until the late hours in the evening to be able to help our constituents.”
When Galvante attempted to explain the causes of the delay, Garin ended the discussion by telling him: “Let’s just get the report na lang. Can we get it by the end of the week?”
“We will try by Friday,” were Galvante’s last words before Garin hastily called for the next resource speaker.
As a recap, the motorcycle-taxi pilot run was conducted over two cycles. The first was from mid-2019 to December 26, 2019, with only Angkas as the recognized participant. The second leg extended the program until March 23, 2020, with JoyRide and Move It joining.
The report will be submitted to Congress to become the basis of a law that will legitimize motorcycle taxis in the country.
