EDITORIAL — Safety for our service riders

You may have seen this viral video already; a motorcycle taxi rider getting stabbed by his passenger in Caloocan. The video is hard to watch, because the victim is still seen running up and down the street before he is taken to the hospital where he dies.

He left behind a son with special needs.

But Fabio Norberte Jr., 46, wasn’t the only recent victim. Another motorcycle taxi rider, Ren Ren de Laviga, 35, was also killed by his passenger who still went on to try and extort money from his family, saying De Laviga had hit his vehicle and needed to pay for the damage.

There can be no worse betrayal for a motorcycle taxi rider than to be victimized by his own passenger; here is someone he safely conveyed to his chosen destination, only to rob him.

It would have been more acceptable if the two had only been robbed. That they were needlessly killed makes it more tragic.

There’s no denying that motorcycle taxi riders have become indispensable to our transport system. Our fleet of ageing Public Utility Jeepneys can’t keep up with our growing population anymore. We see this every day; so many people have trouble finding rides during the rush hours.

This gave rise to the legalization of the motorcycle taxi.

Using motorcycles for public transport isn’t new. In different parts of the country, people have been using “habal-habal” to address transport problems in far-flung areas.

But while motorcycle taxis are now legal, there seems to be no moves yet to guarantee the safety of the people who drive them.

So, how do we guarantee the safety motorcycle taxi riders? This isn’t easy to answer.

For sure, motorcycle taxi riders can’t ask their passengers to submit to a background check to see if they have criminal records, let alone search them for hidden weapons. They can’t carry guns for their protection either.

The Department of Labor and Employment is eyeing strengthening their protection by holding motorcycle taxi employers liable for such incidents, as well as establishing a 24/7 complaint hotline for distressed workers.

But can this really deter someone determined to rob a motorcycle taxi rider regardless?