LTFRB lauds DOJ decision granting impounding powers vs colorum vehicles

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) welcomed the recent affirmation of its authority to impound colorum vehicles as declared by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In a statement Tuesday, LTFRB Chairman Vigor Mendoza II said the DOJ decision will help boost their  anti-colorum efforts following complaints from transport groups that colorum operations take away 30% of their income.

“We in the LTFRB welcome the decision of the DOJ and see this as a victory for the legitimate and law-abiding drivers and operators of public utility vehicles (PUVs) across the country,” Mendoza said.

The decision signed by Acting DOJ Secretary Frederick Vida was anchored on several laws and jurisprudence, including at least two Supreme Court decisions, the Doctrine of Necessary Implication under Executive Order 202, Commonwealth Act 146 and the Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01.

It noted that to maintain public safety and general welfare, state interference was necessary to eradicate colorum vehicles.

“While LTFRB under existing law, does not have express powers to impound colorum vehicles, its authority to do so can be premised on Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01, which has been recognized by the Supreme Court to be valid and constitutional,” the decision read.

In 2023, the DOJ under former secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the LTFRB had no power to apprehend, impound, and dispose of colorum vehicles, and that their only authority lay with coordination with other agencies allowed to do so. —Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/RF, GMA News