MANILA - Jeepneys with franchises that remain unconsolidated after April 30 will be considered "colorum" or illegal, the chairman of the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board said on Tuesday.

LTFRB Chair Teofilo Guadiz III also said there will not be another extension of the deadline for franchise consolidation despite the ongoing protests of transport groups opposed to the scheme.

In an interview with ANC, Guadiz said that the agency's offices will be open until 10 p.m. Tuesday to accommodate the expected increase in the number of jeepney drivers and operators who want to beat the deadline.

He said applicants only need to bring the minimum requirements for consolidation including a petition with the LTFRB, and the OR and CR of their vehicles, among others.

"A lot of these hesitant operators decided to come to the LTFRB office at the last minute to file their petition for the accreditation of their cooperative," Guadiz said.

Come May 1, PUVs that did not apply for consolidation will be considered as operating illegally. But jeepney operators that did not consolidate their franchises will not immediately be sanctioned.

"Technically they are already colorum, but there is such a thing as a day in court. We will give them that benefit. we will give them that opportunity."

This will come in the form of a show cause order, where the operators will be asked to explain why they did not follow orders to consolidate.

However, by the second week of May, the LTFRB will begin fielding enforcers to check the documents of jeepneys.  

LTFRB enforcers will issue traffic citation tickets to drivers caught using colorum vehicles, who will then be meted with a 1-year suspension of their driver's license.

"Colorum" vehicles will also be impounded and the operator slapped with a P50,000 penalty, he said.