ANGKAS PARTNERS WITH NTF, DILG, PNP TO GIVE FREE RIDES, SHIELDS FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS

• 1000 bikers deployed to hospitals and 1000 shields for biker HCWs during MECQ

To ease the burden of commuting medical frontliners, Angkas, the pioneer motorcycle ride-hailing app, has partnered with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19, and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to give free rides for healthcare workers (HCWs) and shields for biker medical frontliners.

Angkas will deploy 1,000 of its bikers to 10 hospitals in the National Capital Region that have been recommended by the Department of Health (DOH):  Philippine General Hospital, San Lazaro Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Ospital ng Maynila, Ospital ng Sampaloc, Quezon City General Hospital, Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, and the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital. The Angkas riders will be on standby at these participating hospitals at the end of the HCWs’ shifts. This is usually the time that the frontliners are fatigued and would benefit more from transportation aid. The complementary Angkas service will run until the end of MECQ, which is August 18.

At the same time, Angkas will be giving protective shields directly to the HCWs who own motor bikes and use them as transportation for their work which has been classified as an essential service. The IATF-approved shield serves as a barrier between the driver and the passenger. It has also been subjected to and passed the rigorous review of Total Control, a U.S.-based motorcycle safety school that monitors and ensures the safety of motorcycle transport in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marines.

DILG Secretary and NTF Vice Chairman Eduardo Año accepted the free ride services and free shields donated by Angkas. He acknowledged that the Angkas shield could increase the level of protection for both bikers and riders, noting that bikers habitually remove their helmets and even face shields once they sweat under the hot weather. 

“Once we reviewed the videos and CCTV along the road, around 30% of those who use motorbikes lift their face shields because they find it hot. In traffic and at the intersections, they lift their helmets and remove their face shields. That’s when transmission can happen. With the barrier shield, even if they remove the helmet by instinct, they are still protected,” Año said.

Maj. General Guillermo Eleazar, PNP Chief Directorial Staff and Commander of the Joint Task Force COVID Shield, said that his team is closely coordinating with Angkas, especially in emergency situations. He said, “We will be monitoring, for example, transportation terminals  or locations of  stranded [HCWs].  Kung saan kailangan ang ANGKAS riders, we will tell George so he can tell his bikers.”

Angkas Chief Transport Advocate George Royeca honored the contribution of the doctors, nurses, and other frontliners who, only a week ago, asked for a two-week ‘time out’ in order to review their current COVID-19 strategies and recalibrate accordingly.  He said, “Angkas stands by our HCWs in the 10 hospitals given by the DOH. After the shift, makauwi sila ng maayos. We are coordinating with the DOH in terms of the government hospital needs.”

He emphasized that the shields are given free of charge:  “Narito po si Angkas para po i-donate ang barriers para safrontliners.”

Royeca also described the Angkas initiatives as “one of the measures providing assistance. It is an example of the public and private sectors working together in partnership. They are complementary to other government measures, like the NTF’s provision of dorms and hotels for the HCWs.”

Lt. Gen. Eleazar also emphasized that the partnership initiated by Angkas for medical frontliners gives the public a glimpse of what the country could achieve if everyone would work together to defeat the virus. “This endeavor will ensure that our medical frontliners can perform their tasks and not be hampered by lack of transportations on their way for work, and back home,” he stressed.

Angkas’ free service to the HCWs will continue during the two-week MECQ. Royeca says, though, that the ride-sharing service can be flexible depending on the “needs of the public. Right now, because  there is no public transport, we have to ferry the HCWs.”

Angkas is also an active proponent of DOH’s BIDA campaign which continually encourages the public to maintain proper safety and health protocols at all times to prevent further transmission of the virus.

Secretary Año reiterated that the continuing cooperation of the public in following minimum health protocols, especially in transport, is critical in winning the war against COVID-19. He said, “Magtulungan pa tayong lahat. Sumunod po tayo sa patakaran para [matulungan natin] ang ating mga HCWs.