In its latest move to reverse an order that could cut its fleet, motorcycle taxi firm MOVE IT has called on the Motorcycle Taxi Technical Working Group (MCT-TWG) to formally declare its right to operate with 15,000 riders in Metro Manila.

In a supplemental filing to its motion for reconsideration, the bike taxi firm warned that the continued enforcement of the order displaces riders and affects thousands of commuters, particularly with the scheduled rehabilitation of EDSA next month.

The company also said that the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) had issued a decision in violation of its right to due process.

“It is both arbitrary and unjust for the Honorable MCT-TWG to base a decision — one that effectively obliterates up to 14,000 jobs — on a single ‘hearing’ conducted solely by the Secretariat, without the presence of the Chairman, Vice Chairperson, the five other members of the Honorable MCT-TWG, and, most critically, without the participation of the directly affected parties, Move It and the riders,” the company said.

Due process needed

MOVE IT noted that the company was not challenging the TWG’s authority to regulate, but said that “the power of regulation should be exercised by the tenets of due process as mandated by the 1987 Philippine Constitution.”

MOVE IT also claimed its compliance with the 2020 revised rider allocation guidelines was ignored, and warned of job losses if the order is implemented. 

“The enforcement of the Order, which was issued in flagrant violation of the right to due process, will displace almost 7,000 riders in Metro Manila, 3,000 in Cebu, and 3,000 in CDO,” it said.

“Any further delay in the resolution of the Motion will not just affect 14,000 riders and their families, but also the riding public, for whom the MCT pilot study was contemplated and envisioned,” it added.