The Manila Times

7K unlicensed vehicles seized in Feb – LTO

- BY FRANCO JOSE C. BAROÑA

OVER 7L000 delinquent or unregister­ed motor vehicles were apprehende­d across the country in february 202TL according to a REPORT FROM THE LAND TRANSPORTA­TION OFfiCE (LTO).

LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza 2nd said that aggressive implementa­tion of the “No Registrati­on, No Travel” policy resulted in the apprehensi­on of 7,252 motor vehicles, of which 243 were caught picking up passengers without the necessary permits.

Mendoza said that last month alone, a total of 1,653 “colorum,” or unregister­ed public transporta­tion vehicles (PUVs), were impounded across the country.

These unlicensed PUVs operate without the necessary permits or proper authorizat­ion from relevant government agencies, particular­ly the LTO.

Government transporta­tion agencies consider “colorum vehicles” unsafe since they did not undergo the necessary roadworthi­ness tests.

Mendoza said the crackdown will continue in the coming days, as he emphasized that renewal of vehicle registrati­on is one of the ways to determine the roadworthi­ness of vehicles that would ensure the safety of all road users.

The LTO chief reminded motorists to have their motor vehicles registered.

“Let this serve as a stern warning to both the delinquent motor vehicle owners that we will continue with this operation because this involves road safety and your obligation that comes with motor vehicle ownership,” said Mendoza.

“The same warning goes to operators and drivers of colorum vehicles. We will not stop until such time that you are held accountabl­e for your illegal activities,” he added.

Also in February, the government was able to collect a total of P18 million from the penalties imposed on operators of illegal and unregister­ed vans, buses, and other PUVs.

The high level of collection was also the result of a sweeping crackdown against unregister­ed vehicles.

Records show that from February 1 to 22 of this year, the Special Action and Intelligen­ce Committee for Transporta­tion (SAICT), the traffic enforcemen­t arm of the Department of Transporta­tion (DoTr), was able to collect P18 million in penalties from 50 unlicensed vehicles that they apprehende­d.

A fine of P200,000 is levied on drivers/operators of illegal and unregister­ed vans.

On the other hand, a penalty of P1 million is imposed on operators of illegal buses.

According to Transporta­tion Secretary Jaime Bautista, the stiff penalties imposed on offenders reflect the government’s unwavering commitment to prioritizi­ng road safety for all commuters.

The DoTr urges the commuting public to report any suspicious or unauthoriz­ed transporta­tion services to authoritie­s.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Philippines