SEVERAL UV Express vans heading northbound from Davao City and vice versa resumed operation after passing the tagging inspection headed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Tuesday, June 27, at the Sasa Old Airport in Davao City.
LTFRB board member and spokesperson lawyer Aileen Lizada said in an interview that the tagging inspection covers both northbound and southbound vans but they prioritized the northbound vans Tuesday due to the recent accidents that happened in the area.
The tagging inspections, Lizada said, will ensure that the UV Express vans are not colorum and are approved according to the standards of LTFRB and Land Transportation Office (LTO).
"We inspected the units visually and see if they have complied with the memorandum circular released by LTFRB National office that all UV Express Vans must be white. If not, we refuse to give them accreditation to resume in operation," she said.
The spokesperson said there are a total of 500 northbound vans covered in the tagging inspection yet 30 percent of these vans are painted green, black, and silver; a violation of the memorandum circular 2007-007 of LTFRB.
Lizada also said they asked the operators for a copy of their units' franchises and the current certification of registration as it will be the sole basis of the legality of their operations.
Once the operators presented all the requirements and the LTFRB have checked whether the vans were tinted white, she said they will be attaching a sticker on the windshield portion of the van to signify that the unit passed the inspection and can resume business.
Lizada added that those UV Express vans that are operating without stickers will be caught and impounded by LTO. The southbound vans are expected to have their tagging inspection tomorrow, June 29.
"We want to have a unified system operation for all UV Express Vans that is why we are now stricter in terms of compliance for both northbound and southbound [vans]," she said.