The Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office has warned colorum vans-for-hire (V-Hires) and other vehicles operating without permits and violating health protocols.
NORPPO director, Col. Bryant Demot, reminded the public that vans or private vehicles transporting passengers without proper authority are considered colorum, a government press release said.
Since colorum vehicles do not have franchise, the passengers would be at a disadvantage since they will not be covered by insurance in case these vehicles figure in an accident.
It was noted during a Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases meeting that some V-Hires are also overloading and thus, violating the health and safety protocols set by the health department.
The cops, together with elements of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG), are set to go after colorum and overloading vehicles to protect the passengers from accidents and Covid transmission, Demot said.
He said public transport will be inspected along the highway checkpoints and police can apprehend the driver if he could not show a copy of the permit, franchise, insurance, and the certificate of completion from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
Dante Matiao, transportation committee chair of the PIATF, moved to pass a resolution requesting the Land Transportation Office, through the PNP, to investigate or warn colorum V-Hires and other buses that failed to comply with the mandated number of passengers or follow the physical distancing rule.
Under the Department of Transportation guidelines, passenger load for public utility buses (PUBs) and public utility jeepneys (PUJs) should not exceed 50 percent or half of the vehicle’s capacity.
Safety refers to guidelines that reduce contact, transmission, and spread of the virus through the mandatory use of face masks and gloves for drivers.
Thorough disinfecting of vehicles, terminals, and even among passengers are also required, the DoTr added.*
