LTO's weekend crackdown nets 30 luxury cars

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) impounded 30 luxury cars over the weekend, all of which either had expired registration or no registration at all.

According to Dano Tingcungco’s report on “24 Oras” on Monday, three out of every ten vehicles are driven by unlicensed drivers.

“Magtataka kayo, ang mahal-mahal ng sasakyan, walang rehistro. Pangalawa, walang driver’s license ang karamihan, kaya po talaga ini-impound,” said LTO chief Markus Lacanilao.

(It makes you wonder: the cars are so expensive, yet they have no registration. Secondly, most of the drivers don't have a driver's license, that's why we impound them.)

Because owning a car with expired registration is considered an impoundable offense, owners must settle their papers with the LTO to retrieve their vehicles.

The cars impounded over the weekend belong to private individuals, including foreigners—a Chinese and an Estonian.

Meanwhile, three of the 30 cars are undergoing thorough verification to determine if they were smuggled.

“Lahat po ito ay unregistered at karamihan po dito ay wala po silang dala-dalang kopya ng papel nila ng sasakyan,” Lacanilao added.

(All of these are unregistered, and most of them were not carrying copies of their vehicle documents.)

The LTO also admitted that some traffic enforcers are intimidated to flag luxury vehicles for fear of encountering politicians.

“Takot silang tanungin kasi minsan mga, siyempre may mga kilalang tao. Iba yung mapara mo yung luxury vehicle, minsan politiko o minsan mataas ang katungkulan sa gobyerno. Nai-intimidate ang lahat,” said Lacanilao.

(They are afraid to question them because sometimes, of course, there are famous people. It's different when you flag down a luxury vehicle, because it could be a politician or someone with a high position in the government. Everyone gets intimidated.)

Aside from settling registration, owners must also pay fines worth P10,000 or more.

If owners fail to prove their ownership, the impounded cars may be auctioned.—Vince Angelo Ferreras/MCG, GMA Integrated News