Colorum PUVs
THROUGHOUT the year, vehicular road accidents claim the lives of many people, including motorists, passengers and even pedestrians.
Not only that. These mishaps also kill and maim people living on roadsides in various parts of this impoverished Southeast Asian nation.
And in some instances, these road accidents involved “colorum” or unregistered public utility vehicles (PUVs).
Aware of this, the government has intensified its nationwide campaign against the operation of unauthorized buses, jeepneys and vans.
Orchestrating the campaign is the “Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (SAICT),” formerly called the “Inter-Agency Council on Traffic (IACT).”
SAICT is a task force to protect commuters, motorists and pedestrians from potential hazards posed by “colorum” vehicles.
Records show that during the first six weeks of the year, the SAICT reported that fines imposed on colorum PUVs totaled P31.6 million.
Of the amount, P17.4 million was collected in January, while the rest, P14.2 million, was imposed in the first half of February.
At present, a colorum van is fined P200,000, while a passenger bus is fined P1 million.
At at the same time, the task force called on the public to report to the Department of Tranportation (DOTr) the presence of colorum PUVs in their localities.
The people may get in touch with DOTr through its hotline (0920-964-3687.
