DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 20 Nov) – A city councilor here vowed to resolve the delivery riders’ plea to be exempt from business permits “before the year ends.”
Delivery riders here have been demanding to exempt them from business permits – which will cost them between P1,720 and P5,200 annually, depending on the type of motorcycles they own – because they are not businesspersons.
“Rest assured that our committee is working on the delivery riders’ pleas and maybe before the year ends, we can create a resolution,” Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz, the incumbent chair of the committee on finance, ways and means, and appropriations, said in a press conference at Sangguniang Panlungsod on Tuesday.
She said the riders’ plea has been referred to four committees, namely, committee on finance, ways and means, and appropriations; committee on trade, commerce, and industry (both chaired by Ortiz); committee on rules and privileges, chaired by Councilor Jesus Joseph Zozobrado III; and committee on labor and employment, chaired by Bai Hundra Cassandra Dominique N. Advincula.
City Ordinance No. 0291-17, also known as the Davao City Revenue Code, was passed in 2017 but amended in 2021 by former city councilor Danilo “Danny” Dayanghirang Sr. through City Ordinance 0612-21, mandating the delivery riders to apply for business permits, among other changes.
Last October 22, the city council approved a resolution recognizing the position of the United Davao Delivery Riders Association (UDDRA). The resolution seeks to expedite the process to have the riders exempt from paying business permits.
When asked if the riders’ plea to be exempt from business permits would affect the city revenue, Ortiz admitted it could, and that is why they are still “working on it” through a “quite tedious, complex, and complicated” process.
“We don’t want to preempt everything but we are hearing the riders. It might affect the city’s revenue but we hear the riders,” Ortiz said.
In asking for exemption from the city’s business permit requirement, the UDDRA cited the Supreme Court decisions on Ditiangkin et al. vs Lazada (2022) and Fuentes et al. vs. Lazada E- Services (2023), which ruled that delivery riders are not businessmen nor business partners.
Eduardo Quijano, UDDRA spokesperson, urged the city council to heed their pleas because “in the first place, we are not businessmen.”
Because the city government classifies them as business owners, Quijano lamented they also have to apply for permits or certifications from the Department of Trade and Industry and the Bureau of Fire Protection, among others, akin to businesses that occupy physical stores or spaces.
The delivery riders’ pleas have also become the topic of concern for mayoralty candidates here, particularly for Karlo Nograles (who was former first district representative and later, Cabinet secretary and Civil Service Commission chair) and spiritual leader Rodrigo Cubos.
Both Nograles and Cubos will be going against long-time mayor and former president Rodrigo Duterte, running in lieu of his son, incumbent Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte. The latter will instead run as vice mayor.
In a statement on Nov. 10, Nograles said the business permit requirement for delivery riders “adversely affects the riders’ livelihood and is counter-productive to the efficient delivery of essential services to the general public.”
“For our LGU, there are more creative ways of generating revenue from e-commerce. Hindi maganda na ang City Hall ay nagiging dagdag pahirap sa mga ordinaryong mamamayan na naghahanapbuhay (It’s not good if the City Hall is becoming a burden to ordinary working citizens),” Nograles was quoted in a statement.
On the other hand, Cubos said in a statement dated Nov. 13 that he would request the Sangguniang Panlungsod to amend Davao City’s 2017 Revenue Code, “proposing a model similar to Cebu City, where delivery riders are only required to secure an occupational permit instead of a business permit.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Davao City Disaster Radio Monday morning, Business Bureau head Maribel Paguican said they had already given enough leeway to business riders.
(We are not hindering their businesses because we respect the council’s resolution. For example, we do not accost them if they might lack requirements,” Paguican said.
Eduardo Quijano, UDDRA spokesperson, said an estimated 8,000 delivery riders are currently working around the city. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
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