Saved

About 14,000 riders working for Move It can heave a sigh of relief. Transport Secretary Vince Dizon put on hold an LTFRB directive for the firm to drastically reduce the number of motorcycle taxis serving the Metro Manila region.

The LTFRB directive reduced Move It’s rider cap in the NCR from over 14,000 to just 6,836. In addition, the LTFRB ordered MoveIt to cease its operations in Cebu and Cagayan de Oro, which would adversely affect over 6,000 riders.

MoveIt filed a motion for reconsideration with the LTFRB. The motion questioned the legal basis for the LTFRB order. On the face of it, and without a clear law governing the deployment of motorcycle taxis, the agency’s order seems whimsical.

For years, the transport network vehicle services (TNVS) waited for a law to be passed to make employment in the industry more secure. In the absence of a law, something called the Motorcycle Taxi Technical Working Group (MC Taxi TWG) of the LTFRB has been charged with regulating this emerging mode of transport services.

Under the present “experimental” arrangement, three transport network companies (TNCs) have been accredited: Angkas, JoyRide and Move It. In an agreement forged on Feb. 12, 2020, a limit was set on the number of motorcycles allowed to ply in the NCR, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro. Based on their submissions, Angkas was allocated 20,000 riders, JoyRide 15,000 and Move It 6,836.

That agreement is now five years old and clearly in need of adjustment. The commuting public has been very receptive to this sort of service. In response, the TNCs increased their training and accreditation of riders to meet public demand.

Obviously, there is a public need that this service meets. More and more riders, most of them family breadwinners, chose to make this their occupation. It turns out, this occupation is uncertain. Bureaucrats kept the prerogative to decide how many riders will be allowed to serve commuter demand.

Having discovered that Move It has increased its number of riders well over the allocations decided upon five years ago, the LTFRB decided heavy-handedly to cut the number of riders Move It employs. That decision, if implemented, would have immediately disemployed thousands of accredited riders. It would also reduce the number of motorcycle units available to meet commuter demand.

Fortunately, Transport Secretary Dizon stepped in to hold the LTFRB directive in abeyance until after Move It’s motion for reconsideration has been fully considered. The danger of disemployment, however, still hangs over the heads of the riders who have chosen this occupation.

We obviously need more policy clarity governing this emerging transport service. People have invested in training and accreditation for jobs generated here. Commuters have come to rely on the service they offer. The industry cannot be left exposed to bureaucratic whim.

Unending

The saga between the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the controversial German IT contractor Dermalog seems unending.

The consortium led by Dermalog and two Filipino companies bagged a rather generous multibillion-peso contract to build the LTO’s Land Transportation Management System (LTMS). Since then, this arrangement has been marked only by heartache and disappointment.

The project suffered numerous delays and continues to be haunted by glitches. The Commission on Audit (COA) found numerous irregularities and contractual issues. The state auditor notified parties on the possible disallowance of P1.272 billion in payments made due to questionable audit items.

The House committee on transportation held several hearings on the matter and recommended the contract be abrogated. Under the procurement law, a contract can be terminated if liquidated damages reach 10 percent of total contract price. That limit was breached long ago.

During the public hearings, a director of erstwhile Dermalog joint venture partner Verzontal expressed regret over doing business with the German firm. They thought the project would improve services for Filipino motorists. They were misled. The German firm concealed contract prices from their own joint venture partners.

In June 2022, the Quezon City regional trial court ordered the arrest of four Dermalog executives on qualified theft complaints filed by Verzontal. The DOJ, however, set aside the resolution of the QC Prosecutor’s Office. Nevertheless, Verzontal is considering filing another case to compel Dermalog to open its books and reveal its actual earnings. This is to enable the Filipino firm to determine the exact amount owed them by the German firm.

A nullification case against Dermalog was filed by private citizens with the Supreme Court over alleged contract violations, project delays, poor performance and the LTMS’s potential threat to national security. An adverse SC decision might finally end this saga.

Years after they were supposed to turn over source codes to the LTO, Dermalog continues to control the LTMS. They use this control to favor a side business, Paynamics, that forces Filipino vehicle owners to cough up fees much higher than industry average.

Notwithstanding its voluminous shortcomings in fulfilling its contractual obligations, Dermalog found the temerity to vociferously attack the LTO and its chief Asec. Vigor Mendoza II. During a recent press conference, Dermalog spokesperson Nikki de Vega launched a fiery tirade against the agency, specifically accusing Mendoza of depriving Filipinos of a state-of-the-art road transport application system. De Vega even claimed in her rant that LTO’s indifference to Dermalog could jeopardize $4 billion in pledged investments from German companies.

This company tries to bully its way out of its own failings.