Monday, March 26, 2018

Decorum on Colorum: The Passenger Vans in Occidental Mindoro



We could not have an exact number of illegal passenger vans operating in the province today. They have been regular features of our main throroughfares in the last ten years or so replacing the jeepneys and the local buses plying the Abra de Ilog and San Jose routes. But aside from its unlawful operation (as far as the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board or LTFRB is concerned) this transport system is serving the commuters in general. The students, employees, the Mangyans, all people from all walks of life actually. But of course, there are accidents happening every now and then involving these vans but these speedy little vans are still the most receptive public transport system in Occidental Mindoro.

“Colorum” is a slang term used to describe a vehicle soliciting passengers without expressed authority from LTFRB while “decorum” on the other hand means a “behavior in keeping with good taste and propriety.”

In his recent visit to Sablayan in the aftermath of an accident last March 20, 2018 where at least 19 people died and 21 others were hurt when a Dimple Star Bus with plate number # TYU 708 with body number 7805 fell into the railing of a bridge in Patrick Pass, near the boundary of Brgy. San Agustin and Brgy. Batong-Buhay in this town, President Rodrigo R. Duterte ordered a massive crackdown of all colorum passenger vans in the land.

Both the so-called grand terminals in San Jose and Sablayan cater colorum vans. Through their respective legally-operating terminals, local governments are accommodating them or at least mum about the situation of colorum-ness. The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) also considered some of them as legitimate. One cannot blame the LGUs for such inaction for they deeply know the importance of the transport system to the economy, not to mention its social importance. Minus the isolated cases of accidents, the transport system serves well the general public. 

In July 2016, Rep. Jesulito Manalo of ANGKLA Party-list re-filed a crazy bill penalizing as criminals the persons found to be operating or owning motor vehicles identified as colorum. Under the bill, colorum is classified six different ways including a duly registered and franchised unit plying a new route without permit. As a criminal offense, the operator and/or owner is liable under the Revised Penal Code and will be fined no less than Php 200,000 but not more than Php 1 million. That is if the bill is approved.

This criminalization of colorum came almost two years before the president issued its total crackdown announced in my home province just last week. Some think that this is a holistic approach to the problem and would finally eradicate the proliferation of such operations all over the land. His supporters lauded the president for this. In 2007, there are around 200,000 colorum public utility vans in the Philippines, according to LTFRB.  

But instead of cracking down, why not legalization? Meaning, officials have to make them have a cheaper and easy access to franchising of said public utility vehicles. The LTFRB may draft rules and regulations for legalizing or registering the colorum vans that have been illegally plying routes as PUVs.  They should be also be given an installment payment scheme.

This will also benefit the riding public in general because their usual patrons like me will be covered by insurance in case of accident.  Aside from trailing and hunting down the colorums, the LTFRB must alongside create programs aimed at ensuring the safety of passengers of the vans and other public utility vehicles. Aside from cracking them down, or being poured with gasoline and put to be set in fire (as what the president suggested) the LTFRB should also establish a satellite office here in Occidental Mindoro and facilitate the easy access of such licensing requirements for the so-called colorum vans.

Actually, many of the van operators been applying for their franchise since 2014 and already a big amount of money they spent in its processing but to no avail. The red tape in franchising must also be stopped. This should be aired is a meeting with LTFRB, if in case there will be one.

Meanwhile, every body,- the dispatchers, drivers and conductors, who are in the public van transport business in Occidental Mindoro are gravely affected by this closure. Including the families they need to feed plus the operators who are still paying off loans for purchasing their units. In the very peak season of the business, the opportunity for a more income was snatched from them. 

Instead of banning the vans in our main highways and bolstering the present crackdown, the LTFRB, the Land Transportation Office and other agencies of the Department of Transportation and Communications must lobby for amendments to the Public Services Law, or Commonwealth Act 1936, to meet the present realities in public transport.

To reiterate, the Duterte administration, instead of chasing or running against colorum vans in my province, he and the concerned offices under him must cut down the fees for transport franchises and speed up its application process. There must be a LTFRB express lane for this right here in our province. In addressing major highway-related irregularities, the law enforcers assigned to the job regularly be on the street like the PNP Highway Patrol Group.

I am more inclined to help my people rather than big transport companies and capitalists outside of my province. The local transport business helps the local revenue for it will just circulate around the province while in the case of big transport corporations based elsewhere, our money is siphoned from us. This is not an inclusive growth right from my lenses and senses.

This is the proper decorum on colorum to me…

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(Photo: Heraldion V. Manzano)





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