Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 6) — The Department of Transportation issued on Tuesday a show cause order to the registered owner of the truck caught in a video, which shows commuters supposedly being transported to ‘NCR Plus’ areas in violation of COVID-19 protocols.
In the video, reportedly taken in southern Luzon, a group of passengers can be seen getting off a closed truck, some of whom had no face masks, while most weren’t wearing face shields.
Once outside the truck, they were instructed to board several commuter vans, which the DOTr said would supposedly take them to Metro Manila.
The capital region and nearby provinces Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal have been placed under one bubble setup until Aprill 11. This means only authorized persons can do essential travel into and out of these areas. However, according to the DOTR, closed vans and trucks have been “smuggling” people into Metro Manila borders, where they will then be fetched by commuter vans, in exchange for cash.
The modus starts with illegal dispatchers offering transport services on Facebook where the online booking is made, the DOTr said. Confirmed passengers are then picked up door-to-door by colorum or unregistered vehicle operators.
“These things must not be tolerated,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said. “Kinukomprumiso nila ang buong sambayanan. Lahat ng paghihirap natin sa testing, isolation at treatment mawawala dahil dito sa kaga***uhan at kalokohan na ginagawa nito.”
[Translation: They’re compromising everyone’s health. All our efforts to test, isolate, and treat will go to waste because of such nonsense.]
Tugade stressed such operations serve as vectors for COVID-19 transmission, especially since there’s no guarantee the transported passengers are COVID-free.
He also reminded that essential workers can still travel to their places of work inside the NCR Plus bubble through authorized forms of travel, subject to restrictions and requirements by local government units. He added they may also avail of the free ride service offered by the DOTr for authorized persons outside of residence after proper health screening.
From March 19 to April 2, the DOTr said 79 people who arrived in the Bicol region aboard unregistered passenger vehicles from Metro Manila have tested positive for COVID-19. This number is still apart from the seven other COVID-19 cases found during anti-colorum operations from April 1 to 2, it added.
The DOTr said it continues to conduct regular monitoring of terminals and borders to prevent further illegal operations of such kind, with at least 153 colorum vehicles apprehended in the Greater Manila area from January to March this year.
