GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/06 March) — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Region 12 has stepped up its crackdown against “colorum” or unregistered public utility vehicles (PUVs) plying various routes in the region.
Renato Padua, newly-installed LTFRB-12 regional director, said they are currently conducting a series of enforcement operations in key areas in Region 12 to rid the streets and highways of illegal PUVs.
He said the move is part of the “marching orders” to the agency of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
“This is a continuing operation and we will not stop until we eventually clear our highways of colorum PUVs,” he said.
Padua said they already apprehended a number of “colorum” passenger vans and those with other violations in surprise inspections here since last week.
Among those apprehended were private vans that were operating as PUVs without proper authority from the LTFRB, he said.
Under Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01, a PUV is considered “colorum” if it operates “outside its approved route or area without prior permit” and operates differently from its authorized denomination or classification.
PUVs that operate with suspended or canceled certificates of public convenience are also committing “colorum” violation.
“Colorum PUVs are not covered by insurance coverage in case of accidents so our passengers are facing greater risks if they are allowed to continue operating,” Padua said.
Padua, a retired Army officer who previously served as chief of the Joint Task Force GenSan, said he has been “covertly” taking passenger van rides to check for other possible violations.
He is going after overloaded PUVs and those that were not charging their passengers properly.
“I’m mainly checking what’s actually happening inside these passenger vans,” he said.
Padua added that he is planning to assign additional personnel to conduct similar activities in other parts of Region 12. (MindaNews)