A Senator in the Philippines moved a resolution to declare Angeline Xiwen Tham, Founder and CEO of motorcycle ride-hailing company Angkas, as ‘persona non-grata’ for violating ownership law and defaming the government, says a CNN report.
The resolution was filed by Aquilino Koko Pimentel against Tham for her “high-handed, arrogant and irresponsible acts” in the Philippines.
Than is a Singapore citizen.
“Tham is merely a guest in our country, yet she is already acting like an oligarch which seems hell-bent on becoming at our expense,” said the resolution.
Also Read: Motor taxis declared illegal in the Philippines as pilot run ends before time
According to the Senator, Tham holds almost full ownership of Angkas which is against the local law, which stipulates that Filipinos must own 60 per cent of public transport companies. Angkas maintained that it is the Chief Transport Advocate George Royeca, who owns 60 per cent of the company, and that its stakes were divided among its six owners, with his stake fulfilling the law’s requirement. The Department of Transportation, however, didn’t accept this.
Angkas CEO Angeline Xiwen Tham
The Senator also alleges that she in December triggered a rally in which thousands of motorcycle riders participated, bringing the traffic of Metro Manila into a standstill. Tham is also accused of spearheading a social media campaign against the government.
The campaign, #SaveAngkas, trended on Twitter late December in an effort to call for action against the DOTr’s order for a 39,000-cap on motorcycle taxis in the country, which effectively means Angkas would be allowed to have only 10,000 riders in Metro Manila and 3,000 in Cebu.
According to Angkas, this order would render nearly 17,000 of its riders jobless. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board later clarified the cap will still allow riders to join other motorcycle ride-hailing firms such as JoyRide and Move It.
Early this week, motorbike-based taxis were officially declared as illegal in the Philippines, after a pilot run to test its practicality and safety ends ahead of schedule. Overseen by a technical working group under the DOTr, the “pilot run” itself was supposed to be extended until March 2020.
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