DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/08 December) — An official of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Davao Region urged the managements of van and bus terminals in Davao City to refuse entry of colorum or unregistered vehicles to prevent them from proliferating.
LTO-XI issued the call after 17 vans and a bus have been confiscated in the city either for lack or failure to renew registration this year alone.
LTO-Davao head for operations Leonora Calderon told reporters during Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City on Monday that colorum vehicles continue to operate because van and bus terminals would still tolerate them.
“Where would they go? To the terminals,” she said.
She said colorum vehicles are private cars and vans that operate without franchises as well as vehicles that go beyond the limits of their franchise.
Last year, the Department of Transportation and Communication issued Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01 that imposes stiffer penalties for colorum vans, jeepneys, and buses.
For colorum buses, violators will pay P1 million, for vans P200,000, and jeepneys P50,000.
The same stiffer penalties apply on motorcycle owners who fail to renew their annual registrations.
Many of the owners who were accosted for violating the city’s speed limit ordinance were discovered to have not renewed their registrations.
“Most of them thought that when they got their units, they don’t need to renew their registrations every year,” Calderon said.
Almost 100,000 motorcycle units have already been impounded in the city since the implementation of the speed limit in 2013, she said.
She said many motorcycle owners would fail to claim their units because of the P10,000 penalty that they need to settle with the LTO.
“Most of the owners pay their motors on a monthly installment. Many of them would opt not to get their vehicles back,” she added.
With this huge number of unclaimed vehicles, she added they are thinking of ways of making all the owners register their vehicles because many of them would say they have no knowledge about the renewal policy.
She said they will put some of these vehicles that have been impounded for over six months on auction. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
