Thousands of motorcycle riders nationwide join Unity Ride vs Double Plate Law

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120,000 motorcycle riders nationwide came together Sunday to hold what is currently the biggest Unity Ride ever, this time to show their outrage against the recently signed double plate law which the riders tagged as anti-poor. 

"We are not criminals,' say motorcycle riders at the 'Unity Ride' against the Republic Act 11235 or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act of 2017, authored by Sen. Richard Gordon and Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, which was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte last week.

RA11235 aims to address the rising number of crimes perpetrated by motorcycle-riding gunmen, particularly these riding in tandem by making their two-wheeled vehicles more easily identifiable.

The law thus mandates the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to issue bigger reflectorized license plates which must be placed in both front and rear parts of the motorcycle. The plate numbers should be big enough to be readable even from 12 to 15 meters away.

The motorcycle riders cited safety issues as their main concern over RA11235. The front-mounted plate may become detached due to several factors including vibration, wind, or just simply the failure of the material to hold the plate. This poses a big risk to both the motorcycle rider and the pillion, as well as to pedestrians and other road users.

The riders also claimed that there were no proper consultations from experts and motorcycle riders to determine whether installing bigger plates on both front and back is feasible or safe, and if it is even applicable to all types of motorcycles.

“Old and new motorcycles don't have the provisions for a front-mounted plate. Adding a bracket outside of factory specifications will surely pose a big risk for the riders, their passenger, and even the pedestrians,” stressed Jobert Bolaños of the Motorcycle Rights Organization (MRO). "And not all motorcycles have the same front design that can accommodate stickers or decals which takes away uniformity. And without uniformity, there is subjectivity," Bolaños added.

"Motorcycle riders have been hampered by several ordinances and laws that sometimes we think that we are being outcast in our own society," Rod Cruz, chairman of the Arangkada Riders Alliance, stated. "RA11235 is by far the worst law of all so you cannot blame us for doing this nationwide call for fairness and equality. Please do not treat us like criminals."

The motorcycle riders all claimed that motorcycle-riding criminals would still be able to commit crimes by simply taking off the license plates, as the criminals have always been doing, or simply using fake license plates to mislead authorities.

The authors of the law were earlier quoted as saying that by increasing the size and visibility of the motorcycle plates to be able to read the plate numbers from a distance, witnesses and law enforcement agencies are aided in the identification of motorcycle riders who are involved in accidents or criminal activities.

"Safety is of paramount importance to Angkas. That is why we do not agree with the provision requiring the installing of big metal plates at the front of motorcycles,” noted Angkas Head of Regulatory and Public Affairs George Royeca, whose Angkas rider-partners came in the thousands to join the Unity Ride.

"I hope they can find a safer alternative that will not compromise the safety of the riders and the passengers," he added. 

“This piece of legislation is discriminatory, considering that most motorcycle riders belong to the masses and they are not only tagged as criminals, they are made to suffer the consequences for things they didn’t do,” Bolaños stressed. “This law is both oppressive and anti-poor.”

Thousands of Angkas riders and bikers join Unity Ride to decry gov't descrimimation

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Thousand of Angkas riders, joined a massive Unity Ride this Sunday as they decry the LTFRB's continued drive to shut down their operations permanently. 

To air their grievances on the double plate issue and motortaxi oppression, 8 thousand riders, almost half of them are from Angkas and 2,000 bikers from different motorcycle clubs in Metro Manila and nearby provinces drove to  and from Kalayaan Shrine on EDSA, heading northward towards Centris near Quezon Avenue, then making a U-turn to head back to the Kalayaan Shrine. 

The Angkas riders have been airing their frustration over not being able to serve the commuters and earn a living, in the light of a recent Supreme Court Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) junking a previous RTC injunction that prevented the LTFRB from apprehending Angkas riders. 

Many Metro Manila commuters said in the social media that  Angkas service has been a valuable help with their transportation woes.

Motorcycle ride-hailing firm Angkas complies and follow the SC TRO 

"Angkas  will and continue to comply with the Supreme Court TRO, " ANGKAS said during the press conference held on Sunday, December 16, 2018, with Romeo Maglungsod, Chairman of Solid Manila Riders Club, Robert Balano, Manila Riders Officer,  George Royeca, Angkas Head of Regulatory and Public Affairs,  David Medrana, Angkas Operations Head, Rod Cruz,  Arangkada,  Ryan Rilera, Taguig Spartan.  

Angkas official, clarified that they are not in defiance of the SC TRO, despite their frustration over its issuance. 

"We are will and continue to comply with the Supreme Court TRO" Angkas Head of Regulatory and Public Affairs George Royeca clarified. 

"As such, we will not prevent the LTFRB from apprehending our bikers and have instructed them to comply with the authorities should they be apprehended and always be courteous and respectful of the officers." 

Royeca also revealed that Angkas officials have been reaching out to DOTR and LTFRB for an open dialogue with them to find solutions for the Filipino riding public. 

"Using various media channels, the LTFRB has made clear its intent to crack down on Angkas bikers, citing a very narrow interpretation of the law. Yet we have on various occasions presented the LTFRB with different options to move forward together," Royeca noted. "We have always believed that regulation, not prohibition, is key," he added. 

Because of the apprehensions initiated by the LTFRB, many of the Angkas bikers are scared of going out and taking rides from commuters. "This has put around 25,000 0f our rider-partners out of a decent livelihood, and during the holiday season, too, when their families need their income the most," David Medrana, Angkas Operations Head, stressed. 

"It is also unfortunate that the Supreme Court issued the TRO at a time when hundreds of thousands of commuters need the Angkas service to beat the worsening holiday traffic," Medrana rued. 

Angkas rider-partner Romeo Maglungsod, Chairman of Solid Manila Riders Club, denounced the harassment of the LTFRB and decried his sudden loss of livelihood. "Napakasakit po ng nangyari sa amin. Sa isang iglap, bigla na lang kaming nawalan ng hanapbuhay," Maglungsod said. 

"Hindi man lang kami nabigyan ng abiso. Biglang-bigla. Kung kelan magpa-Pasko, saka pa kami natanggalan ng disenteng kabuhayan. Ang saklap naman ng aginaldo ng LTFRB," Maglungsod added. 

"The LTFRB has been claiming that they are doing this because of safety reasons," Medrana also noted. "But, we are proud to say that Angkas has a safety record of 99.997%—considering all our rider-partners and all their trips. This is much higher than the safety record of all non-Angkas motorcycle riders in the country and proves how serious we are in our commitment to the safety of our riders and their passengers," he revealed.

Passengers and bikers share why Angkas matters

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With yesterday’s announcement that Angkas had suspended operations while seeking dialogue with the LTFRB, Manila has lost not only a crucial mode of transportation, but also a beloved one.

This comes at a difficult time for metro dwellers, with the upcoming holiday season bringing traffic to a fever pitch. Given the continued growth of car sales (a record 420,000 units were sold last year, with 65% percent of the vehicles hitting the roads of Metro Manila), a solution to the gridlock doesn’t seem obtainable. 

In 2015, then-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan mentioned that the country’s every day potential income loss had grown to at least 3 billion pesos due to the worsening traffic. With the recent incidents involving the Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT), which serves approximately half a million passengers every day, Angkas was and would have been a saving grace. 

Angkas gave passengers a safer, more professional alternative to the habal-habal that have long plied Metro Manila roads. It required safety training, skills assessment, background checks and a professional license before onboarding bikers to its platform, and offered safety gear, transparent prices and personal accident insurance to both its passengers and its bikers.

It is unfortunate that, due to restrictions in regulatory laws in the Philippines, Angkas was deemed illegal, and voluntarily suspended its services in order to engage with regulators. The move has caused strong sentiment among the public, who rallied to support the motorcycle app by sharing how Angkas not only helped them get their time back from traffic but also provided stable jobs to many.

Here are just a few stories shared by Angkas users about how the app transformed their lives.

Bianca Dalisay, posted on Facebook how through Angkas, she no longer needed to wake up at 4 a.m. to avoid spending 3 to 4 hours in traffic during her commute to Makati. It has even helped those who need to be at their workplaces quickly, like those in the medical profession, do their jobs better. https://www.facebook.com/carda.dalisay.7

In Cebu, a city also known for heavy traffic, Angkas has become the preferred mode of transport as opposed to the older habal-habal, as posted by Berniemack Arrellano on Facebook.

Riding Angkas has also saved some riders from missing critical appointments, such as flights. Juliane Paulene Laguilles mentioned how hopeless she was while being stuck in traffic on the way to the airport. She then saw an Angkas poster and tried the app. 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155033696198473&id=747013472

In the face of a personal tragedy, Angkas was also there for commuter Pan Cho, who shared on Facebook how the app helped him to get the money he needed for his mother’s funeral service. He needed to be at the insurance company located in Cubao before the cut-off time at 1 pm. 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1827577363949128&id=136359393070942

Angkas has not only aided thousands of commuters but also provided stable jobs for its bikers, giving them professional training and the opportunity to earn more for themselves and their family. 

In a long post on Facebook, biker Roderick Manabat thanked Angkas for the many blessings it has brought his family.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1839621552945668/permalink/1976764809231341/

RJ Pinlac shared how being an Angkas biker has helped him as a working student.

https://www.facebook.com/rapplerdotcom/posts/1839268852760556?comment_id=1548200721936701&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D

Meanwhile, Ferds Llaguno, another working student who recently graduated in Criminology in Cebu thanked Angkas for helping him to pay off his tuition fee debt. Through his continued work as an Angkas biker, he had hoped to eventually take his board exam, a dream that would not be possible for someone with a minimum wage job who is also burdened with debt and needing to support a family. 

https://www.facebook.com/menard.umali/posts/10155266197554624

The loss of Angkas is also tremendous for women like Ehlie Roxas, a full-time student. Instead of her husband being able to help care for their child part-time, she posted, he now has to take a full-time job to make ends meet. 

https://www.facebook.com/rapplerdotcom/posts/1839268852760556?comment_id=438677533197103&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D

A photo of a family enjoying a meal at a fast-food chain on Facebook says it all. “Can you provide the simple things in life that make a family happy?” shared Rhey Chel Ann, the wife of an Angkas biker. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1839621552945668/permalink/1972341506340338/

Managing traffic in a growing city like Metro Manila is certainly no easy task. With more cars on the road increasing traffic congestion, Angkas hopes to work with the LTFRB to be a part of the solution. It has reached out to the agency with a plea for two-wheeled vehicles to be included under the TNVS or Transportation Network Vehicle Service category. Many citizens have also joined this call, sharing their stories online and urging regulators to engage with Angkas.

Beat the traffic with ANGKAS ! Mobile Motorbike Hailing Platform provides access to Fast, safe and affordable motorbike transportation

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Picture this: you’re seated inside a cab, jeepney or bus – the clock is ticking and you’re going to be late for that office presentation, final exam, or anniversary date. Your heart is beating fast, your legs moving up and down, you’re shaking your head and clicking your tongue. You’re practically bartering with god to make the traffic move faster. 

If you’ve ever commuted around Manila, you’ve definitely experienced this. You’ve prayed, cried, sworn and wished for a way to teleport across the city that, according to the 2015 global survey conducted by a popular travel app, has the worst traffic in the world.

Now, imagine breezing through that traffic congestion, finding alternative streets that no 4-wheeled vehicle could pass through, and arriving at your destination in a fraction of time. With Angkas, you don’t need to stop at imagining! 

Available on both iOS and Android, Angkas is a mobile on-demand motorcycle hailing platform that connects riders to a rigorously-trained, professional motorcycle driver. Angkas provides convenient, safe, and affordable motorbike transportation that will get you to where you need to go faster! 

Simply download the app, add your destination, and, with the tap of a button, your biker will arrive shortly to bring you where you need to go.

Safety is the top priority for Angkas: all bikers go through rigorous background checks, skills assessment, and safety training. Rides come with a quality helmet and personal accident insurance. Raincoats are provided to passengers in case of rain, and face masks and hair caps are issued for hygiene.

Starting June 19, new users can book their first ride for FREE (up to PHP 80) with the promo code ANGKAS to make travel around the metro more convenient than ever. Say goodbye to the trains’ long queues, the hours of sitting in traffic in a packed jeepney, and the steep fare of cabs. Take back all the time you lose from the traffic with a tap on your phone, and conveniently hitch a ride with Angkas.

For more information and latest promos visit facebook.com/AngkasPH