Marcos: Gov’t serious in solving traffic problem
President Ferdinand Marcos, jr. during the Bagong Pilipinas Town Hall Meeting regarding traffic concerns in Metro Manila, April 10, 2024. | PHOTO: Official facebook page of the Presidential Communications Office
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to intensify its crackdown on illegal public utility vehicles (PUVs) to help ease traffic congestion in the nation’s capital.
Marcos directed to DILG Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. and PNP chief Major General Rommel Francisco Marbil at the Bagong Pilipinas Town Hall Meeting on Traffic Concerns held at FilOil EcoOil Center in San Juan City on April 10.
During the town hall meeting, the President denounced the proliferation of illegal PUVs, or so-called “colorum,” as one of Metro Manila’s biggest problems on traffic, stressing that colorum vehicles are choking vehicular flow in major thoroughfares across Metro Manila.
The President said the presence of thousands of “colorum” PUVs will only justify the government’s efforts for an intensified crackdown, adding that only PUVs with legitimate permits are allowed to transport commuters safely to their destinations.
Marcos also requested PUV cooperatives and similar associations to police their own ranks and help authorities in its campaign against “colorum” vehicles.
“Hindi ko akalain at trenta porsiyento ng pumapasada ay colorum pala,” President Marcos said. “Pulis ang mag-i-enforce niyan at titiyakin na may prangkisang tama, kasama sa kooperatiba lahat ng inyong grupo at ng mga ibang transport groups, mga TODA lahat ay kinikilala ang mga magpapasada.”
Abalos said his agency, as well as the PNP, the Department of Transportation, and the Metro Manila Development Authority, will coordinate more closely in this renewed campaign against “colorum” vehicles.
Meanwhile, top officials of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) will confer with other law enforcement agencies in craft a comprehensive plan to finally put an end to the illegal operation of “colorum” vehicles across the country.
LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor Mendoza II said that the anti-colorum campaign will be “more aggressive than before,” citing its adverse effects on legitimate transport operators who said that they have been losing 30 percent of their income per day to “colorum” operators.
“Taking the cue from the President’s directive, which was echoed by the Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista, the LTO intends to double time its efforts and widen its net by coordinating efforts with the PNP, PCG and SAICT,” Assistant Secretary Mendoza said, after the Bagong Pilipinas Townhall Meeting.
The meeting on traffic concerns took place several hours before the President left for the US for a trilateral summit with US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to tackle regional security issues.
The meeting was hosted by San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora, who is also the chairman of the Metro Manila Council.
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