Excessive driver’s license fees flagged

MANILA, Philippines — Some medical clinics accredited by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) are allegedly charging excessive and unexplained miscellaneous fees to driver’s license applicants.

Rep. Franz Pumaren, chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, raised the issue during a committee hearing on March 11, citing reports of unclear charges imposed on applicants.

He said applicants are being charged P300 for medical examination fees on top of P140 in miscellaneous fees and P60 as a computer fee, with clinics failing to explain what these charges cover.

“They said these miscellaneous fees are part of the IT charges. This practice is widespread among medical clinics,” Pumaren said. In a previous hearing, Stradcom Corp., the information technology (IT) proponent of the LTO-IT system, said it has not received any of these unexplained fees for several years.

The issue also raised concerns over the LTO’s accreditation of multiple medical IT providers despite already having two service providers: Stradcom and Dermalog Identification Systems GmbH, which developed the Land Transportation Management System.

Under the previous administration, then LTO chief Edgar Galvante required the electronic submission of medical examination results, allowing clinics to choose their preferred accredited IT provider.

One of the six accredited providers present during the hearing, Edgecomm Total Solutions Inc., said it introduced computerized medical examinations to the LTO in 2012 and that its accreditation is renewed annually.

However, Pumaren said Edgecomm’s role appears redundant. “Edgecomm seems like a middleman, since it also sends medical results to Stradcom. In fact, Stradcom claims it can provide the same services,” he said.

The LTO admitted it does not monitor the pricing of miscellaneous fees charged by clinics but clarified that these payments do not go to the government. LTO Executive Director Atty. Martin Ontog said the agency would review all accreditations to remove unnecessary processes and fees for motorists.