DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/23 May) – Over a thousand vehicles confiscated by the Land Transportation Office (LTO)-Region 11 last year will be sold by the third quarter of 2016 if the owners fail to claim them.
LTO-11 chief of operations Eleonor Calderon said during Monday’s Kepehan sa Dabaw at SM City that their office is currently doing the inventory to determine, among others, the condition of the vehicles.
After the inventory, she said, they will notify the owners to settle their penalties in 30 days, the grace period before the agency puts the vehicles on auction.
She said at least 90 percent of the seized vehicles are motorcycles.
Three “colorum” (unregistered) buses – one unit of JRC Starbus and two units of Surigao Express – were confiscated in a road inspection in November last year for lack of franchise to operate in the city.
“They failed to present their franchise and there’s discrepancy in their engine and chassis. Namasahero sila gikan sa Manila nga walay klarong franchise (They picked up passengers from Manila with no franchise),” she said.
Colorum buses will be fined P1 million, trucks and vans P200,000, jeepneys P50,000, and cars P120,000 under Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01 of Land Transportation, Franchising, and Regulatory Board, LTO, and Department of Transportation and Communication.
Calderon also warned vehicles not to put “Du30” plates on slots provided for the cars’ permanent license car plates.
“Naay leniency ana. Okay lang kung naa sa taas or sa ibabaw (We’re lenient on that. It’s okay to put either above or below the car plates),” she said.
She said “Du30” plates are not commemorative plates, and car owners who violate this traffic rule will be fined P5,000 for improper and unauthorized use of unlicensed car plates.
Five car owners have already been penalized while 10 others have yet to settle their cases, she said.
“We don’t call that commemorative plates. For us, it’s decorative plates. Ang sinasabi namin siguro kung malaman ni mayor na nag-violate kayo matutuwa ba sya? Sabi niya magbago, so follow the law,” she added.
Incoming president Rodrigo R. Duterte said violators must be caught and asked [his] supporters not to give him too much adulation.
“If you cover the plates, huli ka. And those with marking councilor, mayor, huli yan,”Duterte said. “Yang Duterte plate bawal talaga yan dahil matakpan mo yang original,” he said. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
