Filipinos really cling to this crab mentality—they pull down whoever/whatever is successful in business. Angkas opposed the entry of other motorcycle taxis and the infusion of foreign capital, but look it also just recently reported receiving a hefty capital of P500 million from a Malaysian company.
If something good is happening, why try to destroy it. Commuters, whose daily burdens of long queues, heavy traffic and short supply of buses and trains are eased by the operation of motorcycle taxis, benefit from the speed by which they reach their offices and homes using this mode of transport.
We must encourage more motorcycle taxis to operate and open the field for anyone that has the capital (human and cash) to do legit business here.
In recent past, there was this move to block the TNVs – Grab and Uber for so many concocted reasons, which eventually led to the exit of Uber not just from the Philippines but from the Asian market. Guess which sector led the opposition to TNVs, none other but the regular taxis—whose operating mindset of choosing passengers and demanding tips have turned off commuters.
Just a few months back, Angkas led the move against the acquisition by Grab of another motorcycle taxi company, Move It alleging it would lead to monopolistic practices.
Late November, the congressional committee on Metro Manila Development held a hearing and listened to the complaints about Grab Philippines acquiring shares in Move It even though other motorcycle taxi players received investments or already went through changes in their ownership structures.
Upon checking its general information sheet filings with regulators, it seems that Angkas, operating under the corporate name of Dbdoyc Inc., has also received a hefty investment, Inquirer’s Biz Buzz reported.
Documents submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission showed Angkas assets surging over five times from P89 million in 2020 to P588 million in 2021.
This was largely due to a capital infusion of more than P500 million—presumably by Malaysian private equity firm Creador—while a certain Omar Mahmoud is now listed as a director of Dbdoyc Inc. Mahmoud is the managing director of Creador Capital Group.
Late last year, the company received a deposit for future stock subscriptions from another stockholder of P503.87 million for subscription of preferred shares, documents revealed.
Angkas was initially opposed to the entry of other players such as JoyRide and Move It, but the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board prevailed and allowed the two other players to break the monopoly.
Interestingly, Angkas also questioned the Grab-Move It acquisition, the same Angkas that opposed the entry of Joyride and Move It in 2019.
Despite the entry of these players, Angkas still controls more than 50 percent of the market to this day, with 27,000 drivers, clearly a “dominant” position.
No legal issues
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista earlier said he saw no legal issues with the acquisition of Move It by Grab Philippines.
I firmly believe that other regulators and policymakers will act for the interests of commuters and not protect the status quo meaning Angkas and its supporters.
Tags: #DoTr, #LTFRB, #motorcycletaxis, #Angkas