ILOILO — Car rental operators who use privately registered vehicles to ferry paying passengers are now firmly in the crosshairs of transport authorities as the Land Transportation Office (LTO) Region 6 intensifies its crackdown on “colorum” operations across Western Visayas.
The warning comes as LTO-6 reported that 192 unauthorized passenger vehicles have been intercepted since January, ranging from vans and multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) to sedans, taxis, motorcycles and tricycles.
Regional Director Gaudioso P. Geduspan II stressed that privately owned or leased vehicles cannot legally be used to transport passengers for a fee without the required government franchise.
The agency’s latest enforcement operations exposed arrangements in which vehicles registered for private use were allegedly being used for commercial passenger transport.
During a random checkpoint in Barangay Lanit, Jaro, Iloilo City, operatives of the LTO-6 Regional Law Enforcement Section (RLES), led by RLES chief Jetster T. Mandadero, stopped an MPV carrying eight passengers.
The passengers admitted paying individual fares for transportation originating from Pototan, Iloilo.
In a separate operation in Passi City, enforcement personnel intercepted a private van that had been rented for three days for P19,000 and was allegedly being used to commercially transport passengers without authorization from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Both vehicles were impounded and brought to designated LTO holding areas pending administrative proceedings.
LTO-6 said its enforcement drive is anchored on LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. 2024-038, under which vehicles carrying passengers for a fee — including those operating through informal arrangements, private leases or car rental services — are considered public utility vehicles and must have a valid Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC).
The 192 vehicles apprehended across Western Visayas include vans and MPVs used as unauthorized commuter shuttles, sedans and taxis providing informal hire services, and motorcycles and tricycles engaged in unauthorized commercial transport.
LTO-6 warned that colorum operations circumvent safeguards imposed on legitimate public transport services, including mandatory periodic motor vehicle inspections, driver background screening and passenger insurance protection.
Penalties against erring operators can reach P1 million, but the agency said unauthorized passenger services continue to operate despite repeated warnings and enforcement operations.
Geduspan has ordered LTO law enforcement personnel and deputized agents to sustain high-visibility operations and unannounced checkpoints along major thoroughfares, regional transport terminals and bypass roads throughout Western Visayas.
The intensified operations are aimed at protecting commuters while ensuring fair competition for legitimate transport operators and cooperatives that comply with government franchising and safety requirements./PN
