Tuesday, September 25, 2007 Crackdown v. colorum vehicles starts October 16
OF THE numerous tourist transport vehicles in Davao City, only 23 are actually authorized by the Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Nine out of these vehicles are plying the entire Mindanao.
LTFRB administrative officer Edgar Violan said that by October 16, a crackdown on colorum tourist vehicles will be conducted.
"There is an undetermined number of colorum tourist transport vehicles in the city," Violan said in an interview Monday.
Department of Tourism-Southern Mindanao Director Sonia Garcia said the crackdown will be beneficial to upgrade the tourism sector in the city.
"One of our mandates is to continually upgrade the services of the tourism sector," Garcia said.
Further, Violan said the franchise for these types of vehicles are very important to ensure that the vehicles pass safety standards set by the government and won't put into jeopardy both the local and foreign tourists who come to visit the city.
Garcia also said that though the law requires that the vehicles must not be older than five years old, they give leeway.
"We have already extended it to accommodate vehicles that are even 10 years old but are still ok and in good condition," Garcia said.
Garcia added that the Department of Tourism and LTFRB are going to set a consultative meeting with players of the tourist transport service on Thursday, from 1-5 p.m. in Bistro Rosario.
