BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan challenged the newly installed officer-in-charge of the Cordillera office of the Department of Transportation and Railways (DOTr-CAR) to curb the proliferation of colorum motor vehicles that continue to ply major routes inside and outside the city, among other issues confronting the local transport sector.
The local chief executive said that he is waiting for the courtesy call of the new DOTr-CAR official so he can personally bring to his attention the alarming proliferation of colorum motor vehicles that contribute to the congestion of the city’s traffic, aside from other corruption issues that have continuously trained the image of the agency through the years.
“We hope that the new leadership of the DOTr-CAR will start working on how to effectively and efficiently curb the continuing proliferation of colorum motor vehicles that continue to ply major roads in our city. We want this matter to be given utmost attention by the concerned officials because there had been reports that colorum vehicles continue to operate amidst the government’s unrelenting and uncompromising anti-colorum campaign,” Domogan stressed.
He explained that the new DOTr-CAR official should show his concern in addressing the pressing issues confronting the local transport sector, particularly the proliferation of colorum motor vehicles, so that the trust and confidence of the people on the ability of the government to address the said problems will be restored.
According to him, it is unfortunate that there are a number of colorum motor vehicles that have even established parking areas in the city’s central business district area and that their illegal operations are allegedly being tolerated by officials and employees of concerned government agencies who are in cahoots with erring law enforcers.
Earlier, DOTr-CAR officer-in-charge Robert Allan Santiago vowed to intensify the government’s campaign against corruption in the agency through the implementation of needed reforms that will improve the image of the agency from the perception of the public.
Domogan urged being a Cordilleran, the new DOTr-Car must work for the greater interest of the people in the region and spell the difference between his leadership and his predecessors who were bombarded with numerous issues and concerns that resulted to their being dismissed from the service due to various offenses.
He added that another issue that must be given immediate attention by the new DOTr-CAR official is the rampant circumvention of the moratorium on the issuance of certificates of convenience to applicants which is in gross violation of the moratorium issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to prevent the increase in the number of motor vehicles plying the roads of the city that result to monstrous traffic congestions.
He expressed confidence that the new DOTr-CAR official will be able to change the image of the agency to a better one.
This story, first published at Baguio Herald Express, is produced under the Bloomberg Initiative Global Road Safety Media Fellowship implemented by the World Health Organization, Department of Transportation and VERA Files.