Transport group slams solon for call to exclude Move It from MC pilot study

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 5) — A transport group criticized a House committee's proposal to bar Move It from participating in a pilot study on motorcycle taxi operations, describing it as a «job-killer» for more than 6,000 riders.

Members of the United Motorcycle Taxi Community (UMTC) issued a statement on Sunday to show their disapproval over the recommendation of Rep. Rolando Valeriano, the committee on Metro Manila Development chairperson, to exclude the firm in the study, which will be used as reference for drafting a bill on the service.

Valeriano earlier said Move It should not be allowed to operate after it was acquired by Grab Philippines, which he said has been the dominant firm in the transport network vehicle service market.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista previously said he saw no need to probe Grab's acquisition of Move It, which allowed it to join the study for which it initially failed to qualify.

If the ban pushes through, UMTC representative Romeo Maglunsod said the suspension would impact about 6,500 families.

“Life is hard. Everything is expensive. We have families we need to take care of. If Move It is shut down and we lose our jobs, how will we feed them?” Maglunsod said.

The group said that instead of limiting the number of motorcycle taxi players, lawmakers should instead further boost the industry by legalizing it.

“There are motorcycle taxi bills pending in Congress that could open the doors to more job opportunities, and we urge House leaders to prioritize this instead of paying attention to recommendations that would rob people of jobs and employment opportunities,” said UMTC representative Jet Cruz.

The group added that having multiple players in the sector would be immensely beneficial to the riding public.

The companies who secured the greenlight to participate in the pilot test were