BOODLE FIGHT BONDING Senatorial candidates Erin Ta帽ada (second from left) and Sen. JV Ejercito (center) take part in a boodle fight with members of motorcycle groups after signing a covenant with them.鈥� NI脩O JESUS ORBETA
Several candidates signed a covenant on Sunday dubbed the 鈥淩ider鈥檚 Agenda鈥� that included, among other demands, a vow to legalize motorcycle taxis 鈥� a thorny issue with a slim chance of being resolved by the current Congress despite widespread public support.
A set of reforms meant to give motorcycle riders an emphatic role in policy creation, the Rider鈥檚 Agenda was endorsed in a ceremony held at San Juan City by an eclectic mix of senatorial candidates 鈥� Chel Diokno, Florin Hilbay and Erin Ta帽ada of the opposition, JV Ejercito of the Nationalist People鈥檚 Coalition and Leody de Guzman of Partido Lakas ng Masa.
Congressional bets Ruffy Biazon and Cristal Bagatsing, and the Partido Manggagawa party-list also signed the covenant that was crafted by Riders of the Philippines, an alliance of thousands of riders who attended Sunday鈥檚 assembly.
The covenant also signaled a decisive effort by motorcycle group leaders to organize their members into a cohesive community for politicians to court.
Vulnerable sector
鈥淟ike pedestrians, we are one of the most vulnerable to road abuses,鈥� said Toix Cerna of Move Metro Manila.
Aside from the promise to legalize and regulate motorcycle taxis, which the document recognizes as part of riders鈥� right to earn a living, the covenant also mandates the formation of a 鈥淩iders鈥� Consultative Assembly鈥� that must be consulted before the passage of any bill concerning them.
Likewise included is a demand for legislators to support a 鈥淢otorcycle Road Safety Act鈥� that will create national standards for governing motorcycle use, as well as a call to oppose any measure that will prevent riders from wearing safety gear like face masks.
Eric Lazarte of Philippine Advocates for Road Safety lamented that projects often prioritized car owners at their expense, such as road widening works that led to decreased space for those on motorcycles or bicycles.
The covenant and endorsements it netted on Sunday were a victory for the riders, who had been aggrieved by decades of policies that hampered their livelihood or profiled them as criminals, such as a ban imposed by some cities on pillion or tandem riding.
Their grievances reached a fever pitch in 2018 when the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order that halted the operations of popular motorcycle-hailing app Angkas.
Finger-pointing
But public support for the riders has run up against government gridlock, as Congress and the transportation department have placed the onus on the other to legalize motorcycles for public transport.
Hoping to put riders鈥� issues front and center during the campaign period, speakers at the assembly framed the covenant and the law it called for as answers to both worsening urban congestion and rampant road crashes, thus benefiting a broad swath of Filipinos.
鈥淲e are offering a solution to our government,鈥� Cerna said.聽 鈥淓specially with traffic now affecting not just the productivity of each person, but also the time they spend with their families.鈥�