Time and again, national government agencies remind its people on what they can and cannot do in the line of duty. If you recall recently, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) reiterated that its marshals and deputized officers are not allowed to confiscate license plates. Now, it’s the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) turn to give a stern reminder to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
The DOJ has made it clear to the LTFRB that the latter has no authority when it comes to apprehending and impounding ‘colorum’ vehicles. A ‘colorum’ vehicle is an unauthorized public utility vehicle that runs without a franchise from the LTFRB.
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“We advise that LTFRB has no power to apprehend, impound and dispose colorum vehicles. Its authority extends only in the coordination cooperation with other government agencies in the apprehension, impounding and disposal of such vehicles,” said DOJ secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla. Remulla said this in a legal opinion/opinion letter.
The DOJ stepped in on the matter after former Department of Transportation (DOTr) secretary Arthur Tugade was asked by two transport cooperatives to clarify the LTFRB’s jurisdiction. In response, the DOTr sought a legal opinion from the DOJ. Tugade’s successor, Jaime Bautista, said that the LTFRB has the right to apprehend and impound colorum violators, but the DOJ has said otherwise.
DOTr and LTFRB cite Joint Administrative Order (JAO) No. 2014-01 as one of the provisions that allows the latter to apprehend and impound. However, the DOJ rebuffed that by saying that JAO 2014-01 does not explicitly state if the LTFRB is allowed to perform that duty. Executive Order (EO) No. 202, the EO that formed the LTFRB, was also cited to carry out impounding duties. But the DOJ had the same response to that matter, again saying that it is not explicitly stated of the LTFRB has the authority to impound.
Per the DOJ’s legal opinion, “It is a fundamental rule that an administrative agency has only such powers as are expressly granted to it by law and those that are necessarily implied in the exercise thereof”. The legal opinion further stated, “Under the foregoing premises, we are of the opinion that, unless duly deputized by the LTO or PNP, 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”.
