‘Colorum’ trucks get 1-month reprieve

Transport officials are implementing a one-month “no-apprehension policy” for trucks for hire, after it was observed that their numbers had sharply dropped because of the steeper fines now being imposed on colorum or illegal vehicle operators.

The reprieve period, to be observed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Land Transportation Office, will be from June 28 to July 28. It is aimed at preventing serious operational disruptions among business groups who rely on cargo movers and who earlier warned of price increases because of limited delivery runs.

LTFRB Chair Winston Ginez said private sector groups had complained that the number of trucks available for their companies’ use shrunk by as much as 60 percent after the higher fines took effect June 19.

“It just goes to show how they did not mind back then if their (truck operators) were following the rules,” Ginez said in an interview Friday.

“This is just to balance the intention of the government to regulate (vis-a-vis) the present needs of the economy. We are making these adjustments now,” he added.

The no-apprehension period should enable all trucks for hire to apply for franchises and provisional permits, he said.

“The government wants to address the concerns of the business community regarding delays in the delivery of goods that might cause an increase in the prices of basic commodities,” the LTFRB said in an advisory.

Under the new schedule of penalties issued by the Department of Transportation and Communications, colorum bus operators will be fined P1 million; truck and van operators, P200,000; sedan operators, P120,000; jeepney owners, P50,000; and motorcycle operators, P6,000.

But in response to concerns raised by some provincial operators, the LTFRB also suspended for 120 days the implementation of fines pertaining to out-of-line violations or on vehicles operating beyond their authorized routes.