THE LAND TRANSPORTATION Office (LTO) XI reminded commuters to avoid patronizing “colorum” vehicles in the Davao Region.
In an interview on June 4, LTO XI regional director Eleanor Calderon said the public is putting their safety at risk every time they ride these vehicles.
“While it is our job to enforce the law, however, when it comes to the colorum, manghangyo sad unta ko sa publiko, that they would also cooperate with the government, especially to the LTO, that as much as possible we should be avoiding those vehicles,” Calderon said.
According to Calderon, the office had already apprehended 115 colorum vehicles and 1,596 unregistered ones as of their January to April data.
She emphasized that colorum vehicles compete with registered public utility vehicles without paying the franchise fee.
“Those that are called UV Express, dapat naa na sila’y yellow plate. We also have car rentals, pero tan-awon nato kung wala ba na siya nagcharge per head. Because when we say car rentals, it’s on a lease contract,” she said.
She also urged commuters to regularly ask drivers if their vehicles were franchised, as colorum vehicles have no access to insurance if accidents occur.
“Let’s not patronize them. The reason why they’re still operating on the streets is because there are still people who accommodate them. But if we stop patronizing these colorum vehicles, they will just die a natural death. Mawala rana sila,” she added.
