BY NYARIKA DOMANAIS
BACOLOD City – The responsibility to enforce laws against unauthorized (“colorum”) transportation activities rests with the Land Transportation Office (LTO), not the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), clarified Atty. Salvador Altura, the officer-in-charge at LTFRB Regional Office 6.
Individual operators with expired provisional authorities, or unconsolidated jeepneys in Bacolod, are temporarily permitted to operate until May 15. From May 16 onward, these vehicles will no longer be allowed to service their routes.
In an interview, Altura emphasized, “If a vehicle is operating colorum, the LTO has the authority to enforce regulations, not the LTFRB. It’s up to our colleagues at the LTO to act after the given 15-day grace period.”
Discussing transportation logistics in Bacolod, Altura said discrepancies in vehicle distribution across various routes had been identified.
“We’ve noticed that some routes have an excess of units while others have too few. We’re coordinating with consolidated entities to redistribute these resources effectively,” he said.
A meeting is scheduled with local government units (LGUs) and operators to discuss route adjustments.
“If there’s a consensus among LGUs and operators to relocate units to routes needing more vehicles, the LTFRB is prepared to issue special permits to facilitate these changes,” said Altura.
The city currently hosts 1,151 consolidated traditional jeepneys and 600 white buses, all actively serving the local population./PN