LTO vows to solve non-appearance schemes, backlog issues
MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office warned the public Monday against the proliferation of scams that offer “non-appearance” services for motor vehicle registration and renewal as it vowed to solve its long-running issues with administrative backlog.
In a series of statements sent to reporters, the agency noted that transactions for these “services” happen both on-ground and online. On-ground transactions happen allegedly within the perimeter of smoke emission testing centers, while those online occur mostly on popular social media platforms.
LTO chief Jay Art Tugade said the LTO has repeatedly warned the public that patronizing these scams opens them to possible fraud where they can lose their money, and may put them at risk of legal repercussions.
“Time and again, the LTO continues to remind clients not to patronize these spurious characters who offer their illegal services in exchange for a fee to be able to circumvent the process,” he said.
"We wish to reiterate that the motor vehicle registration process was put into place to protect clients and their hard-earned money, and to guarantee the safety and roadworthiness of their vehicle."
The LTO reminded the public that offering “non-appearance” services for motor vehicle registration or renewal violates Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code or the crime of estafa or swindling, and the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.
These “non-appearance” scams involve the motor vehicle registrant not needing to appear anymore during the registration phase, while some offer clients the opportunity of non-appearance even as early as the smoke emission testing stage of the process. All of these services come at a hefty price.
Tugade warned LTO employees who may be in cahoots with these schemes, as he reiterated the need to put an end to "this nefarious scheme that is depriving the country of much-needed revenues to fill the nation’s coffers."
“If putting an end to this corrupt practice means removing LTO personnel from government service, then so be it. Again, I’d like to remind LTO personnel that I have zero tolerance on corruption. We will weed them out of the Agency if they put the LTO’s name in a bad light,” he added.
LTO looking to resolve backlog issues
The LTO also vowed Monday it would resolve the issue of backlogs regarding the issuance of driver’s licenses and motorcycle license plates.
In a memorandum order, Tugade said he already instructed the different LTO regional, district and extension offices to look for licensing centers and driver’s license renewal offices within their jurisdiction that have fully functional laser engravers and inform applicants of its location.
This way, Tugade said, backlog issues can be alleviated and inconveniencing the transacting public can be avoided.
“This can serve as a stop-gap measure for the meantime while we await the repairs of defective laser engravers to be completed. Also, informing the public which office to go for driver’s license issuance and renewal prevents confusion and further inconvenience to them,” he said.
“We were already informed that the vital parts necessary for the repair of the laser engravers are already available at the Customs. We need to put them in one by one to the machines and evaluate them. As for the timeline, we are looking at fixing the machines by February of next year."
As for motorcycles, the LTO chief said he wishes to to clarify that out of the 12 million backlogs for motorcycle license plates, 9.4 million of them will be replaced very soon with the new design, in compliance with Republic Act 11235 or the “Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act.”
The new design motorcycle license plate, as stipulated under RA 11235, is bigger, readable, and color coded, and is made of suitable and durable aluminum substrate material with reflectorized background and comes with security features.
“There are many problems that beset the agency and we cannot solve them overnight. But with good and efficient work and cooperation of everyone, we shall be able to resolve these problems soon enough to satisfy our customers,” Tugade said.
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