‘Colorum’ PUVs in Metro face stiffer fines

MANILA, Philippines–Metro Manila mayors have declared an all-out war against colorum and out-of-line public utility vehicles (PUVs), saying they will adopt the stiffer fines and penalties stated in the Joint Administrative Order (JAO) issued by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

In a meeting with Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras, Transportation Secretary Joseph “Jun” Abaya and LTFRB Chair Winston Ginez, the Metro Manila Council (MMC), which is composed of all the mayors in the metropolis, announced that they would apply starting Wednesday the penalties under the joint administrative order instead of their respective traffic sanctions when they go after public utility vehicles (PUVs) with green plates or those that ply routes outside their designated ones.

Manila Vice Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, who spoke in behalf of the MMC, said that local government units in the metropolis like the City of Manila would abide by the JAO when going after illegally operating and out-of-line Asian utility vehicles (AUVs), passenger jeepneys and buses and other PUVs.

Last June, the DOTC, LTFRB and LTO issued the JAO which imposed stricter fines on colorum vehicles. The penalty for first-time offenders will be P1 million for buses, P200,000 for trucks and vans, P50,000 for jeepneys and P120,000 for cars.

As for trucks, Domagoso said that violators would also be penalized should they fail to have their franchise applications approved before the Oct. 17 deadline.

Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma earlier announced that colorum trucks would have only up to Aug. 15 to secure a provisional authority from the LTFRB. He added that those who fail to do after the deadline would be apprehended and fined.

“We are warning all drivers and operators of colorum and out-of-line PUVs to avoid plying routes where they are not allowed because all Metro mayors are bent on making them pay higher fines,” Domagoso said.

For his part, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Francis Tolentino, who was also present during Tuesday’s meeting, said that the stiffer fines were not what they were after. “What is crucial is the result we are trying to arrive at and that is to remove these illegal vehicles from Metro Manila roads,” he told reporters.

Tolentino added that the MMDA was continuously apprehending illegal and out-of-line PUVs on Edsa, bringing their daily apprehension rate to 20 vehicles. Just last week, the agency apprehended and impounded 53 colorum vehicles.

Almendras, meanwhile, said there was a master plan to decongest Metro Manila by making the public transport system more efficient. “All of that is a work in progress, he added.”