PNP chides Angkas over sex-related tweet; ride-hailing firm apologizes

Motorcycle hailing firm Angkas on Thursday apologized over a ‘sexual’ tweet, which the Philippine National Police earlier took notice of.

“We would like to emphasize that making our riders feel uncomfortable is the last thing we want to do. For this, we sincerely apologize," Angkas said in a statement.

???????? pic.twitter.com/qfCSGiet6Q

— Angkas (@angkas) July 31, 2019

In a tweet on Tuesday, the Angkas promoted its motorcycle-hailing service as a  sexual metaphor.

“Angkas is like sex. It’s scary the first time, pero masarap na ulit-ulitin,” Angkas tweeted.

On Wednesday, PNP hotline with the username PNP Tweets called out the motorcycle-hailing service, saying the promotion will only instill fear to their customers.

“This is not acceptable to commuters. Matatakot ang tao sa Angkas ‘pag ganito.  This is not promoting public safety in transport business anymore,” PNP Tweets said.

This is not acceptable to commuters. Matatakot ang tao sa Angkas pag ganito. This is not promoting public safety in transport business anymore hen @LTFRB_Official @LTFRB. pic.twitter.com/pA63OeUJfw

— PNP Tweets (@PNPhotline) July 31, 2019

In the statement, Angkas clarified that what its "playful and funy’ social media team meant is that ‘Angkas is a service you can trust once you’ve tried it."

Angkas also extended the apology to its biker-partners who could be implicated by the controversial tweet.

“Our biker-partners have been trained to respect their riders and make them as comfortable as possible. And no tweet can change that fact,” it said.

“Sex should never be used to create shame, fear or disgust, and certainly not used lightly for the sake of some buzz,” it added. —Joviland Rita/LBG, GMA News