DOJ: LTFRB has no power to apprehend, impound colorum vehicles

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has no power to apprehend, impound, or dispose of colorum vehicles, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The legal opinion was issued after former Department of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and the LTFRB sought clarification from the DOJ as to whether the LTFRB has the authority to apprehend and impound colorum vehicles.  

"We advise that [the] LTFRB has no power to apprehend, impound, and dispose of colorum vehicles," Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said in a legal opinion dated May 31, 2023, and addressed to DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista. 

"Its authority extends only [to] the coordination [and] cooperation with other government agencies in the apprehension, impounding, and disposal of such vehicles," he added.

The DOJ said that if Executive Order No. 202, which created the LTFRB, did not grant it powers to apprehend, impound, and dispose of colorum vehicles, such powers could not be inferred from Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01.

The JAO No. 2014-01 affirms the agency’s enforcement power.

"[W]e are of the opinion that, unless duly deputized by the LTO (Land Transportation Office) or PNP (Philippine National Police), the LTFRB has no power to enforce the provisions of EO No. 202 and other related laws and hence cannot legally apprehend and impound colorum vehicles," Remulla said. —VBL, GMA Integrated News