Angkas partners with Mayor Isko to give free rides, shields for Manila health care workers

By motoph admin on August 10, 2020

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In its continuing campaign to assist healthcare workers (HCWs) with efficient mobility solutions during the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) one local government unit (LGU) at a time, pioneer motorcycle taxi ride-sharing service Angkas will be providing free motorcycle taxi rides and shields to the Manila’s medical frontliners in partnership with Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso.

Mayor Isko received the donation of Angkas shields from Angkas Chief Transport Advocate George Royeca in the turn-over held this morning, also witnessed by Vice Mayor Dr. Maria Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan, immediately after the flag-raising ceremony.

Manila has six city district hospitals, namely, Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center, Ospital ng Maynila, Ospital ng Sampaloc, Ospital ng Tondo, Sta. Ana Hospital, and Justice Jose Abad Santos Memorial Hospital, where Angkas bikers will be deployed to ensure that the HCWs will be brought home safe after their shifts.

Mayor Isko expressed gratitude on the Angkas donation and posted on his Facebook page, “Barriers from Angkas! Thank you po.”

Royeca, for his part, said: “The local government unit and the cities in the National Capital Region are the key to recovering lost ground from COVID-19. Their hospitals are the hubs where the HCWs fight the battle against the virus every single day. We believe that by providing our HCWs the services that they need steadily and consistently, and by focusing on these locations in partnership with the LGUs, we can make a difference.”

The barriers or shields act as an additional layer of protection that can help prevent transmission of the virus from the passenger to the driver, and vice-versa, effectively reducing both individuals’ risk to exposure. These were the findings that came out in the Angkas study made by the UP-College of Public Health (UPCPH). The shields’ use has been approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF). The barriers have also been vetted by Total Control Inc., a leading U.S.-based motorcycle-riding training institution whose clients include the U.S. Marines and the U.S. Army.

The city of Manila has at least 1,000 health workers. It has also experienced (to date) 5,179 cases of coronavirus infections, 3,690 instances of recovery, and 236 deaths.

Angkas has also recently partnered with the Philippine National Police, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the National Task Force to provide free shields and rides to the National Capital Region’s HCWs. Since their partnership launch last Friday, August 7, a total of 1000 shields are being distributed, while 1,000 Angkas drivers have been assigned to 10 hospitals recommended by the Department of Health.

Royeca said, “We recognize the immense contribution that our HCWs and frontliners are doing to stem the tide of the coronavirus. The free shields will be given to those HCWs who do own bikes, protecting them from the viruses that are floating in the air. Our Angkas bikers, in ferrying them to and from the hospitals, can not only protect them, but also alleviate them from a lot of the stress that comes with contending with traffic.”