Operators of buses that will be caught illegally operating as public utility vehicle (PUV) will be fined P1 million for the first offense as part of a government campaign to rid streets of violators of land transportation rules.
The Philippine Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Land Transportation Office (LTO), and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on June 2 signed Joint Administrative Order No. 01-2014 revising the schedule of fines and penalties on violation of land transportation laws, rules and regulations.
“Safety is always our priority,” Transport Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said in a statement.
“Recent accidents have highlighted the need for harsher penalties to deter illegal PUV practices and to better protect the public,” Abaya said.
“The most significant change we are imposing is the P1 million fine on ‘colorum’ (illegal) bus operators for the first offense, to show that we really mean business in putting an end to their inimical activities which put people’s lives at risk,” he pointed out.
The fines for other first-time offenders are: trucks, P200,000; jeepneys, P50,000; vans, P200,000; sedans, P120,000; and motorcycles, P6,000.
Aside from penalties, the unauthorized vehicles will be impounded for a minimum of three months. Also, the entire certificate of public convenience (CPC) to which the unauthorized vehicles belong will be revoked, along with their vehicle registrations.
The operators will also be blacklisted to prevent them from being used as PUVs in the future.
For the second offense, the entire fleet or all CPCs of the erring operator will be revoked, blacklisted, and registrations will be revoked. The operator–or in case of corporation, its board and stockholders–will be disqualified from operating any kind of public land transportation.
The joint order also covers other PUV-related violations such as refusal to render services to the public or to convey passengers to their destination; overcharging; employing reckless, insolent drivers; operating PUVs with defective parts and accessories; using tampered taximeters; trip-cutting and others.
The order also covers breaches of road transport rules and regulations such as failure to attach license plates and driving without a license.
Fines on violations are provided for in the joint order.
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