The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved on first reading a proposed ordinance that seeks to amend Section 6 of Ordinance No. 55, series of 2017 or the city’s Anti-Colorum edict to clarify the specific role of concerned law enforcement agencies in the apprehension of colorum vehicles plying the roads.
Under the proposed ordinance, the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) shall coordinate with the Department of Transportation, the Land Transportation Office (LTO), the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Traffic and Transportation Division of the City Engineering Office in the enforcement of the anti-colorum ordinance considering that the data needed to confirm or verify whether a motor vehicle is colorum is with the LTFRB.
Further, the BCPO can issue traffic citation tickets (TCTs) but only the LTO and its deputized agents can confiscate drivers’ licenses of persons operating a colorum motor vehicle pursuant with Department of the Interior and Local Government memorandum dated September 14, 2022 and Department of Justice (DOJ) Opinion dated May 5, 2023.
The ordinance claimed that confiscation of motor vehicle license plates is prohibited in lieu of the physical impoundment of the apprehended vehicles pursuant to LTO Memorandum dated April 27, 2023.
Moreover, the failure of the driver or owner of the vehicle to show the certificate of registration or certificate of public conveyance is prima facie evidence of being a colorum vehicle.
The ordinance tasked the BCPO to submit a quarterly report to the City Mayor, the City Engineering Office-TTMD and the Sangguniang Panlungsod on the operations conducted for the enforcement of the measure.
It added that the City Mayor may create a task force to enforce the proposed measure to include deputizing the barangay officials, barangay tanods and other personnel to sustain its implementation.
Earlier, the research division of the local legislative body conducted a legislative monitoring and evaluation of Ordinance No. 55, series of 2017 and the BCPO submitted its recommendations to include that while Section 6 of the measure directs the local police force to primarily enforce the ordinance, however, the data needed to confirm or verify whether a motor vehicle is colorum is with the LTFRB.
Based on the latest DOJ opinion, the enforcement of traffic laws, including anti-colorum, lies with the LTO and Philippine National Police while the LTFRB may coordinate and cooperate with the said agencies in campaign efforts against colorum.
The BCPO stipulated that it had already coordinated with the concerned agencies and created a joint task group to strengthen its anti-colorum operations in the city. By Dexter A. See
