There's no doubt that Metro Manila has one of the worst traffic problems in the world. In fact, a few weeks ago, President Rodrigo Duterte has called upon the PNP-HPG and the MMDA to escort any emergency response vehicle out of gridlock amid reports that patients were dying in ambulances caught in heavy traffic.
To solve this, Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr., has recently filed Senate Bill 1120, or "An Act Mandating All Public and Private Medical Institutions and Hospitals to Provide for Motorcycle Medical Emergency First-Responders," recognizing the urgent need to provide quick response to both medical patients and victims of vehicular accidents.
If the Motorcycle First Responder bill becomes a law, all hospitals, both private and public, are required to be equipped with emergency first-responders who are trained to ride motorcycles to radically reduce response time and improve patient care anywhere in the country since they can more easily navigate through heavy traffic and get to patients sooner.
The senator also noted that these Rescue-in-Tandem responders can also become useful in far-flung areas where committed medical personnel have to walk long distances for several hours just to serve people who require urgent medical care.
While the idea may sound new to some, motorcycle ambulances have been in existence for at least a hundred years. In World War I, these motorcycle ambulances are used by the Allied Forces for their mobility over larger vehicles. In some areas of Japan, fire departments use off-road motorcycles as emergency vehicles. They are also useful for negotiating the heavy traffic and small streets in the large urban areas of Japanese cities. There are also many countries around the world that recognize the motorcycle's mobility and quickness as the perfect tool in helping those in dire need.
Just last year, Angkas announced plans to launch an emergency first reponder service called Angkas Buhay. The special service trains aims to certify volunteer riders as emergency medical technicians (EMTs). While it cannot transport patients, the idea is to stabilize patients until proper medical assistance and transportation can arrive.
Do you favor this proposed law by the senator?
