BAGUIO CITY – Various government agencies recently launched their motorist assistance program dubbed ‘Ligtas Biyahe: Oplan Semana Santa’ at Summer Vacation purposely to ensure the safe travel of motorists during the Holy Week break and the whole summer season.
Francis Ray Almora, regional director of the Cordillera office of the Land Transportation Office (LTO-CAR), stated that the annual inter-agency collaboration fired off recently to make sure that drivers are fit to drive their public utility vehicles while buses, vans and other public utility vehicles are worthy to travel.
Among the activities that had been conducted by the inter-agency task force include the random drug testing of drivers by the Cordillera office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA-CAR), the inspection of the franchises of public utility vehicles by the personnel of the Cordillera office of the land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB-CAR), the inspection of the road worthiness of PUVs by officials and personnel of the LTO-CAR, the inspection of the records of the PUVs so that those that will be allowed to travel are not included in the list of ‘hot cars; by the personnel of the Cordillera office of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG-CAR) and other related activities that involved the participation of the local government.
The LTO-CAR official disclosed that the inter-agency task force conducted the said inspections on PUVs in 4 terminals around the city that included the Slaughterhouse compound, Otek St., Gen. Lim Road and Gov. Pack road to provide motorists with constant reminders on their safe travel to their desired destinations where they want to spend the Holy Week break and where to spend their summer vacation.
According to him, the activities of the inter-agency task force, especially the monitoring of the compliance of PUVs to the land transportation laws, rules and regulations, will continue as part of the mandate of the concerned government agencies to prevent the occurrence of untoward incidents that might compromise the safety of travelers.
Director Almora warned operators of colorum vehicles that the inter-agency task force is closely watching their operations and that they will not allow the PUVs without the required franchises to travel for the overall safety of those wanting to spend their well-deserved break during the Holy Week and the summer vacation.
Further, the LTO-CAR will also sustain their information and education campaign in the identified terminals to serve as a constant reminder not only for drivers but also for passengers to adhere to the standards of land transportation to avoid being involved in unnecessary incidents that might compromise the safety of life and limb.
He stipulated that there will be more surprise inspections that will be conducted by the members of the task force in various terminals around the city in the coming days because of the expected influx of travelers wanting to enjoy their Holy Week break in the country’s undisputed Summer Capital to prevent operators of colorum vehicles from taking advantage of the situation and putting to risk the safety of their passengers.
