George Royeca, the face of motorcycle-hailing giant Angkas, is now its new chief executive officer.

Angkas co-founder Royeca replaced his wife Angeline Tham, the brains behind the firm, the company said in statement on Saturday, November 27. He was the chief transport advocate before assuming the top post.

“When Angeline started Angkas in 2016, it became instrumental in giving Filipinos back their freedom from the clutches of the metro’s horrendous traffic conditions,” Royeca said.

“Her work increased the quality of life of regular Filipinos, and I intend to continue her vision for an established motorcycle taxi industry in the country,” he added.

Royeca, who is said to have taken full ownership of Angkas, said he will continue lobbying for the passage of a law that would allow motorcycle taxis as alternative modern of transportation.

“My objective is to get the right legislation in place to establish motorcycle taxis as a safe alternative mode of transportation and help create a nation of entrepreneurs that will allow them to take care of their families,” Royeca said.

So far, the bill in question is pending. The pilot run for motorcycle taxis was implemented so that the technical working group would be able to gather data needed for legislation.

Aside from studying the legalization of motorcycle taxis, the government allowed their operations to augment transportation in Metro Manila starting October 2020, amid the limited options due to coronavirus restrictions.

In 2020, Angkas tweaked its ownership structure with Royeca owning 60%, after regulators pointed out that Tham, a Singaporean, owned 99.996% of its parent DBDOYC.

Royeca is among the awardees of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in 2020 for his contributions in mobility and in helping other sectors survive the impact of the pandemic. – Rappler.com