Lapu government warns colorum vehicles against operations

CEBU, Philippines - The Lapu-Lapu City government will be strictly operating against "colorum" tricycle and motorcycles to help lessen the hounding traffic congestion in the area.

Aside from minimizing the heavy traffic flow, Mayor Paz Radaza said apprehending unregistered vehicles is also another way of controlling the volume of vehicles roaming around the city, or passing to and from the neighboring cities.

"This effort is one way of minimizing the volume of vehicles in our City to ease our traffic situation," she said during the city's first Public Safety Summit on Peace and Order, Disaster Preparedness and Solid Waste Management at the Mactan Convention Center.

Radaza said she spoke last week with Arnel Tancinco, director of the Land Transportation Office-7, to discuss with him the problem of the city of vehicles plying without franchise.

About 90,000 vehicles pass to and from the city, according to Radaza, who assured constituents during her inaugural address that she will work on reducing the said digits.

She requested Tancinco to let LTO conduct random operation in the city, and start in Barangay Basak, where most drivers of unregistered tricycles and motorcycles operate.

Last week, personnel from the LTO started their operation, partnered by the City Traffic Management Systems led by Chief Frank Brazil.

Brazil, in a recent report, said that several tricycles and motorcycles were impounded at a vacant lot near Hoopsdome in Barangay Gun-ob because drivers of the vehicles failed to present necessary documents, like their driver's license.

The CTMS found out that some of the apprehended tricycles and motorcycles were not registered, while some had defective parts like side mirrors. Some drivers were also not wearing appropriate footwear.

"Kining pagpanakop sa LTO dili lamang kini sa Basak Area, ato ning ipatuman sa tibuok Lapu-Lapu City. Kung daghan pa gihapon ang wala kasabot niini, sigurado ko nga modaghan pa ang mga madakpan ug ma-impound nga mga motorsiklo ug sakyanan  sa mga umaabot nga mga adlaw," Radaza warned.

"...kadtong kuwang og mga dokumento, dakpon gyud kamo sa LTO.... I want to tell you all here that we are serious in this operation," Radaza added.

Brazil, on the other hand, said that LTO and CTMS will conduct operations randomly so that vehicle drivers passing in a certain area will not easily get away from their inspection. (FREEMAN)