Transportation group PISTON said that those who failed to consolidate their public utility vehicles (PUVs) into cooperatives should not be considered “colorum” and should not be flagged down.
Mody Floranda, national president of PISTON, in a radio interview said: “Our jeepneys are not colorum because they have legitimate franchises. The only thing is, their franchise has expired because the LTFRB does not want to renew it.”
“Being a colorum means having white license plates and not passenger cars. Until now the operators still have the franchise,” Floranda said.
Floranda’s statement comes after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said on Wednesday that they will begin apprehending jeepney drivers who failed to consolidate as part of the PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP) as they would already be considered as illegal and deemed colorum.
LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III earlier said: “We can already flag down and apprehend drivers who did not consolidate because the grace period that we gave for them to stop plying their routes is already over.”
Floranda, however, said LTFRB has yet to give out any show cause order asking for an explanation why they were not able to comply.
“Based on the announcement of the LTFRB, this (franchise) should not just be taken away from our operators. And based on the pronouncement of the chairman of the LTFRB, a summon will be sent asking for an explanation why they did not comply with the PUVMP program,” Floranda said.
“Pero sa kasalukuyan tayo ay wala pang report mula sa lokal na nakatanggap sila ng summon mula LTFRB… Kaya walang basehan ang LTFRB na huhulihin na nila ang mga jeepney,” he added.
(Currently, we do not have a report from our members that they have received summons from the LTFRB. So, the LTFRB has no basis to flag us down.)
“Hindi tayo colorum at hawak pa ng mga op;erator ang kanilang mga prangkisa.”
(We are not colorum and the operators still hold their franchises.)
LTFRB previously said that unconsolidated jeepney drivers found still plying routes might face a one-year suspension, while their PUV might get a P50,000 penalty and face a 30-day impoundment.
In Metro Manila alone, LTFRB said that there were 1,900 unconsolidated jeepneys that would no longer be part of the PUVMP.