QC Rep: Allow Angkas and other motorcycle apps to operate

Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas has asked the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to allow the operation of motorcycle services such as Angkas, JoyRide and MoveIt.

“I am aware of the reservations in allowing our people to backride on motorcycles because of the risks of COVID infection. But we are now in the mode of restarting the economy and easing quarantine rules,” said Vargas.

He added that motorcycle drivers can wear Department of Health-approved personal protective equipment to belay health concerns.

The solon also urged the government to help provide other modes of public transport for workers struggling to get back to work.

“We have to provide acceptable mobility arrangements for them rather than just open the floodgates for people to go back to the streets and fighting for the non-existent public transport. People waiting in the street for hours to get a ride and then spend hours in a bus are more prone to get infected than riding a motorcycle with masks, goggles and PPEs,” he added.

The Philippine Statistics Authority said the unemployment rate surged to 17.7 percent last April. This is equivalent to 7.3 million Filipinos who lost their jobs, majority of whom are in NCR.

The figure surpasses the highest unemployment rate the country ever had, which is 14.1% during the second quarter of 1991.