DAVAO CITY – The Traffic Group of the Davao City Police Office has cracked down on tricycles locally known as ‘payong-payong’ who are using the national highway, posing a danger to passengers and motorists alike.
Payong-payong vehicles are motorcycles with attached sidecars and large umbrellas, which are used for public transport.
The TG apprehended and impounded around 60 tricycles at the southernmost-Toril district last week in a joint operation conducted with barangay and city authorities.
The operation was in compliance to law enforcement of the Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code.
Fines range from P3,000 to P10,000, with the license of operators being suspended for one year.
Illegal attachments of payong-payong sidecars mete out a liability of P5,000.
A study released by the Asian Development Bank in 2013 said that vehicles in the area tend towards smaller motor types such as tricycles and habal-habal motorcycles for rent.
This was due to the distance of the area from the city center, located around 40 minutes to an hour away, as well as a lack of larger transportation routes for jeepneys.
The LTO, meanwhile, lamented how easy it was for interested buyers of motorcycles to buy their units, at installment basis. (Yas D. Ocampo)