LTO suspends 'No plate, no travel' policy

The Land Transportation Office has suspended the "No plate, no travel" policy after LTO officials appeared before the Senate concerning complaints over the manner and slowness of releasing plate numbers to vehicle owners.

 

The LTO suspended the policy on Saturday, Bombo Radyo reported. 

 

A Senate news release on Tuesday said LTO officials agreed to the proposal of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.

The Senator last month said a 30-day moratorium on the policy will solve the problems hounding the agency which has been criticized by the public. 

 

Cayetano welcomed LTO's decision, but said more needs to be done about the issue. 

 

"Ako'y natutuwa na nagkasolusyon, that LTO met with car dealers and tried to solve the existing problems," he said.

 

"Pero kung kinonsulta siguro muna nila ang mga tao bago ipatupad ang polisiya, hindi na sana nangyari ito," he added.

 

"While we commend LTO's suspension of its 'No Plate, No Travel' policy, it does not end here. We know that the DOTC, among other agencies in government, are still riddled with several problems that cause burden to the people. That is why we will continue to guard the public against any government inefficiency," the senator said.

 

The policy penalizes a motorist caught driving a car with no license plates by a P10,000 fine and owner must pay up to P5,000 if a vehicle does not have updated plate numbers.

 

Earlier, LTO chief Aljun Tan defended the policy, which took effect April 1, saying his office was never late in issuing plates for newly-registered vehicles.

 

Automotive industry stakeholders disagreed with the LTO official, saying the backlog was also caused by LTO when it was closed during the Christmas break and did not process registrations from January to mid-February due to a systems upgrade.  – Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/VS, GMA News