THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) is set to deputize this week personnel of the Bacolod City Police Office (BPCO) amid efforts to intensify operations against all "illegal" motor vehicles in the national roads, an official said.
Reuben Tampos, acting chief of LTO-Bacolod, told SunStar Bacolod that the agency already conducted the two-day deputation seminar for 72 applicant-police personnel in the city until Friday.
Tampos said the applicants, who are regular BCPO personnel, then underwent a training on actual operations like issuing a temporary operator's permit (TOP), flagging down, approaching and apprehending drivers, as well as asking for particular documents, among others.
"LTO-Regional Office is set to issue deputation identification cards (IDs), as well as TOP to be used by the deputized personnel," he said.
Once deputized, these personnel can also implement the mandate of the LTO as well as those provided under local ordinances.
Meaning, they can already apprehend erring motorists and issue TOPs, the official added.
Earlier, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has ordered local chief executives to strictly implement the ban on tricycles, pedicabs and motorized pedicabs on national highways.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Ano also directed the creation of a tricycle task force that shall draw up a tricycle route plan in their areas.
Ano said the local government units (LGUs) must review and modify tricycle routes according to the ban and are encouraged to include in their plans the construction of local roads or overpasses where tricycles can operate.
DILG Memorandum Circular 2020-306 further stated that each city and municipality should create a tricycle task force separate from the tricycle regulatory boards to formulate or review its tricycle route plan.
For Tampos, who met with top officials of LTO-Western Visayas, Highway Patrol Group (HPG) and BCPO on Thursday, their deputization efforts in the city do not only cover tricycle but all motor vehicles especially colorum.
"All [vehicles] except for colorum four-wheel buses as only the LTO can apprehend them," he pointed out.
The LTO official said the police personnel will be the agency's implementing arm as the former lacks manpower.
After the deputization, a composite team composed of LTO, BCPO and HPG will also be formed to conduct saturation drive.
The Negros Occidental capital city will be the pilot area of LTO-Bacolod District Office. The local government of Bago will follow as it had already requested for the conduct of deputization seminar.
"Through this measure, we can reduce not only the violation of illegal motor vehicles but also road crashes causing injuries and deaths," Tampos said, urging the public to be responsible motorists.