Drive against colorum vehicles up in Baguio

      Mayor issues order amid holiday proliferation 

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY -- Mayor Benjamin Magalong ordered the Baguio City Police Office to launch an aggressive campaign against colorum public utility vehicles observed to have proliferated anew this holiday season.
    "We have to put a stop to the operation of these colorum vehicles because they not only contribute to our traffic problem but also put the safety of our commuting public at risk," the mayor said.
    He asked the riding public to help the city weed out these unauthorized PUVs by not patronizing them.
    "There are four reasons why we should avoid patronizing these illegal transportations: Their safety is questionable. These colorum trips are crime magnets.
    Commuters are more at risk of inconvenience and colorum vehicles are not insured," the mayor said.
    He said to address this, the city needs to intensify implementation of City Ordinance Number 55 Series of 2017 or the Anti-Colorum Ordinance.
    The operation of colorum vehicles heightened due to increased demand for transportation during the holiday.
    The Land Transportation Office penalizes colorum operations with a fine of P200,000 and impounding of the motor vehicle used in the illegal activity.
    This, as the LTO warned motorists with unregistered vehicles regarding strict implementation of the 'No Registration, No     Travel' policy starting January 2024 to be implemented nationwide.
    The central office of LTO has issued a memorandum regarding strict implementation of this policy although this was suspended during the Christmas season.
    The LTO is coordinating with local government units for registration of service vehicles.
    Vehicle owners may renew their motor vehicle registration two months before due date.
    LTO records bared about 24.7 million unregistered motor vehicles all over the country.