Christmas is the season of giving, not of taking away; of spreading cheer, and not sowing unhappiness.

But for 17,000 Angkas drivers and their families, they got the saddest and meanest Christmas gift ever: their livelihood being taken away.

The gift of unemployment is the most heartless of all, the worst Christmas bonus, one that even Scrooge will not even dare think of.

Many government agencies mark the holiday with wholesale acts of goodwill–mass feeding and mass gift giving.

One agency, however, decided to celebrate a joyous season with the mass firing of thousands of breadwinners.

It is an act of cruelty that goes against the season’s spirit of compassion. More so because the victims did nothing to deserve that unkindness.

On the contrary–Angkas drivers stepped in to help Metro Manila’s stranded and ride-less commuters, by bringing them to their offices and returning them to their homes safe and sound.

By all means–in the interest of competition, and in the spirit of may-the-best-service-provider-win principle–open up the motorcycle-ride hailing service to new players.

But this should not be at the expense of firing those already in the business, those who have invested their life savings in motorcycles, those who have logged good safety records, those who have cultivated sukis who rely on them for their daily ride.(###)