DAVAO CITY – President Rodrigo R. Duterte has ordered a crackdown on “colorum” or illegally operating public transportation in the country following the deadly road accident involving the Dimple Bus Company in Occidental Mindoro.
The President gave the order to the police, highway patrol authorities, and the Regional Public Safety Battalions for those in the provinces during the 16th founding anniversary of the Supreme Tribal Council for Peace and Development, Inc. (STCPD) at the 3rd Infantry Battalion Headquarters in Malagos, Calinan, this city on Friday.
Prior to the event, Duterte visited Mindoro and made a side trip to the site of the bus accident that killed 19 people in Sablayan last March 20.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has already ordered the suspension of the entire bus fleet of Dimple Star.
Duterte asked authorities to arrest drivers and operators who continue to operate public transport without securing registration and permits for their operation.
He expressed his disappointment that the operation of “colorum” public utility vehicles did not stop to the detriment of the riding public.
Filipinos, he said, have been seeing deaths in road accidents almost every day and this could be blamed on the government’s failure to control the operation of “colorum” public transport for many years.
The Chief Executive likened the existence of “colorum” public transport to cancer in society, saying their operation continues despite the number of deaths from road accidents.
Duterte also ordered authorities to make sure that erring drivers and operators end up behind bars.
Operators and drivers, he said, could face fraud charges for operating illegally and they would remain scot-free if the case filed against them is mere reckless imprudence.
“It is fraud. Panikas na. Panlilinlang,” Duterte stressed.
The President also warned erring operators and drivers not to resist arresting authorities or else they would get hurt or killed when law enforcers defend themselves against violent resistance.
Last year, the LTFRB began its relentless anti-“colorum” campaign, especially against the operation of UV Express units.
It reported that 186 UV Express units were hauled to its impounding area. It also impounded in the first six months of 2017 a total of 645 motor vehicles. (PNA)
