Arthur Tugade’s innovative leadership

Fixing our country’s transport woes is a gargantuan task, and it is a testament to Transportation Secretary Art Tugade’s leadership government is finally seriously considering proposals to legalize and regulate motorcycle taxis. 

We are in desperate need of alternatives to move people around, and with our major transit projects like the Metro Manila Subway finally beginning construction, Tugade has started shifting his focus to measures that can bridge the gaps sooner. 

Last December, at the height of the holiday traffic, the DOTr chief ordered the creation of a technical working group to review the feasibility of using motorcycle taxis safely as a mode of passenger transport, noting, among other things, the habal-habal’s ubiquity and the rapid rise to popularity of the motorcycle-hailing service Angkas.

This came months before the House of Representatives unanimously voted to legalize motorcycle taxis and before the Senate began working on its counterpart bill, indicating the secretary’s foresight. Motorcycle taxis, Tugade clearly understood, was a vehicle of the people. Where cars are expensive, slow in traffic, and affordable only to those with the luxury of waiting, motorcycles are nimble, accessible, available to every social class. 

The group the DOTr secretary created is now recommending a test pilot run for motorcycle taxi services. If Tugade approves, this will be a way to validate its economic and safety impacts with real-world data before any permanent policy is made.

His TWG has brought in key stakeholders and experts like Angkas, the LTO, PNP-HPG, MMDA, urban planners like AECOM, various commuter and biker groups as well as legal organizations like Ateneo and UP Law to weigh in and ensure the safest parameters, if motorcycle taxis were to be regulated. All of this supervised by no less than Transportation Undersecretary Mark de Leon who is a rising star in his own right. 

The proposed pilot serves a dual purpose: first as a tool to aid legislators in writing laws grounded in real practice and evidence, and second, as a key ingredient in determining the implementing rules for the new law legalizing motorcycle taxis once it inevitably comes our way.

After 55 years, Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code is finally being modernized, in line with Tugade’s PUV modernization program. 

It is inevitable for motorcycle taxis to become a legitimate option for Filipino commuters, many of who are already using them out of necessity, but without the protection of the government. Fortunately, we have a transportation secretary who is willing to pursue innovative solutions to our transportation problems.

Economic benefits

The country may finally have a common tower policy by the second quarter of this year as the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is in the final stages of preparing the controversial and much-delayed policy .

According to DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio, shared passive facilities such as telco towers through this policy would cut back unnecessary expenses from the telco operators and subscribers will benefit from this.

Earlier, the two incumbent telco players and an incoming one have expressed support for a market-driven common and shared passive infrastructure policy. According to the DICT, representatives from Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, and the Mislatel consortium said they are willing to collaborate with the initiative.

The DICT assured that the support of telco operators would be pivotal to the smooth implementation of the common tower policy. As planned, the tower firms must first secure a business contract from the telcos for the government to provide assistance through facilitation of permits, right of way, and other government permits for infrastructure.

 The economic benefits of this infrastructure policy is expected to be sizeable, with gross income estimated to be at around P200 billion. The employment opportunities that will be created will also be significant. At 50,000 towers and each tower using 200 to 500 workers, that’s easily 10 to 25 million workers of different skill levels.

Rio is optimistic that the savings that will be generated by the telcos from leasing shared facilities can be used to further improve their services for the benefit of the subscribers.

Local government units are, likewise, expected to earn additional revenues, since the tower operators will have to secure a number of permits and to pay local and national taxes. According to the DICT, if the existing 19,000 towers are already bringing in substantial revenues, then imagine the benefits that the 50,000 new towers (5,000 towers yearly) will generate.

So far, the DICT has already signed memoranda of understanding with 12 aspiring tower providers. These are ISOC Infrastructures, ISON ECP Tower of Singapore, Edotco Group and RT Telecom of Malaysia, IHS Towers, China Energy Equipment, Aboitiz InfraCapital, MGS Construction, American Towers, Frontier Tower, Phil Tower Consortium, and JS Cruz Construction.

Rio said that while the common tower policy initiative e is open to all interested parties, only key players would be accommodated, or those who have the capability to come up with at least 500 towers.

Not so hidden agenda

SPECIAL SKAL EVENT. New World Hotel Makati’s outgoing general manager Farid Shoucare (right) was  recently feted to a thanksgiving and farewell party by SKAL International Makati. Shoucare, who as Skal vice president promoted Philippine tourism and supported the growth of SKAL worldwide during his nine-year stint, will move to Singapore to be GM of five-star hotel Grand Copthorne. SKAL and Philippine Airlines president Jaime Bautista, and SKAL chairman and Latvia consul general Robert Lim Joseph presented Shoucare with a plaque of appreciation. With them is Cynthia Carrion Norton, Corregidor Foundation chair and CEO .

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