{"id":271508,"date":"2020-10-11T04:51:29","date_gmt":"2020-10-11T08:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=271508"},"modified":"2020-10-11T04:51:51","modified_gmt":"2020-10-11T08:51:51","slug":"allowing-motorcycle-taxis-will-save-jobs-recto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/10\/11\/allowing-motorcycle-taxis-will-save-jobs-recto\/","title":{"rendered":"Allowing motorcycle taxis will save jobs: Recto"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Theoretically, he said one motorcycle taxi driver back on the road is one assistance recipient off the list and \u201ca big chunk of the cost of gas they buy are taxes that help pay for health services.\u201d (PNA file photo by Joey O. Razon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Government should allow motorcycle taxis back on the streets to expand the transport options of millions and restore the livelihood of tens of thousands, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one job-creating public service that will not cost the government a single centavo,\u201d Recto said.<\/p>\n

At a time when many sectors are looking at the government for bailouts, here is one that does not need any except the go signal to operate again, Recto said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAirline fleets are mostly grounded, and the few flying are cruising on the dangerously low altitude of funds. In contrast, motorcycle taxis are ready to ferry people to work at a moment\u2019s notice without need for a government financial push,\u201d Recto said.<\/p>\n

Theoretically, he said one motorcycle taxi driver back on the road is one assistance recipient off the list and \u201ca big chunk of the cost of gas they buy are taxes that help pay for health services.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWala rin silang hinihinging<\/em>\u00a0Christmas bonus.\u00a0Ang simpleng hiling ay makapasada muli, para hindi mapait na Paskong tuyo ang kanilang sasapitin<\/em>\u00a0(They also don\u2019t ask for Christmas bonus. Their simple request is to return on the road so that they don\u2019t have dry Christmas),\u201d Recto added.<\/p>\n

Recto, however, said the motorcycle taxis should only be allowed on the road again if they will meet \u201cstringent health and safety standards\u201d the government will impose.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis part is non-negotiable. If barriers, face masks and face shields, disinfected helmets are necessary to protect rider and driver, then these should be made mandatory,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Recto urged health experts \u201cto study if the three layers of protection provided by a barrier, a helmet and a face mask worn by both driver and rider in an open-air setting are as safe as the inside of a closed air-conditioned bus that has 25 passengers.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the resumption of motorcycle operations can even be done gradually.<\/p>\n

\u201cHindi naman<\/em>\u00a0(not) mass flag off. But initially in numbers sufficient to meet the passenger demand,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Recto has been advocating for \u201csafe public transportation\u201d as the key to restarting an economy the pandemic has flattened.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransport is in the league of treat, track and trace. Breadwinners have to earn. They have to go to work in safe transport which does not give space for coronavirus to hitch a ride,\u201d he said. \u201cMaraming trabahante ang napilitang mag-resign dahil walang masakyan. O kung meron man, matagal ang<\/em>\u00a0commute\u00a0dahil kulang ang maaaring masakyan<\/em>\u00a0(Many workers opted to resign due to lack of transportation).\u201d<\/p>\n

This, he said, is reflected on the national adult joblessness rate which soared to 45.5 percent of the labor force in July, per a survey of the Social Welfare Stations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis corresponds to 27.3 million jobless Filipinos,\u201d he said. \u201cOne culprit is the lack of transportation. We\u2019ve given too much focus on ease of doing business for corporations. We should also find ways on how there can be ease of going to work for employees.\u201d\u00a0(PR)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 Government should allow motorcycle taxis back on the streets to expand the transport options of millions and restore the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":242686,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-271508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271508"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":271509,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271508\/revisions\/271509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}