‘Colorum’ vehicles ferrying teachers seized

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Monday urged teachers to be more responsible after a group of educators was caught riding in “colorum” vehicles to attend a national conference in Baguio City.

LTFRB board member Aileen Lizada told reporters that the seven vans and three buses ferrying the teachers, mostly from Cavite province, were impounded after their drivers failed to present the required permits and franchise allowing them to operate as shuttle vehicles.

The group was attending a four-day national seminar organized by the Department of Education (DepEd) at Teachers’ Camp, Baguio City, when they were apprehended in the summer capital by LTFRB enforcers on Saturday.

Lizada expressed dismay over the actions of some of the teachers who resorted to “orchestrated drama” to cover up their actions. In one instance, a teacher told the LTFRB enforcer that the driver was her brother-in-law while the vehicle was owned by her sibling. But when the van owner was contacted, she could not even describe the educator, Lizada said.

“We told them to stop fooling us. Why are they telling us lies? Why do they resort to tactics like that?” she complained, noting that they discovered that several of the impounded vehicles were owned by some of the teachers themselves.

Lizada said the teachers told them that it had been their practice to rent the vehicles of their coworkers, an action which may be in violation of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Antigraft and Corrupt Practices Act.

“[It may] be causing undue injury to the government because there’s manifest partiality. There is no bidding of services. You give [the contract] to one teacher. I wonder if there’s a receipt or insurance. It really sends a wrong message to students,” she added. “This is not going to look good for DepEd.”

According to LTFRB regulations, private vehicles need to be covered by a special permit from the LTFRB before being used for shuttle services.

Lizada said she would report the incident to the DepEd to prevent similar cases in the future. She added that educators should conduct a bidding and hire tourist vans or buses with the necessary franchise to not only ensure their safety but to also curb the proliferation of colorum vehicles.

“They are educators. They should take the lead and be an example,” Lizada said.