Councilor hits LTO plate standardization project

A LOCAL legislator in Cagayan de Oro expressed dismay over the planned implementation of the standardization of motor vehicle plates in January next year.

Councilor Alden Bacal, chair of the City Council committee on public utilities, said the planned standardization is not a guarantee to address carnapping incidents in the country.

Bacal said one of the provisions of the standardization is the attachment of “replacement of plates” by only authorized personnel of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to motor vehicles. The plates cost P450 and P120 for motorcycles, and are renewable every five years.

He said by doing so, it only increases the burden to the public, instead of giving solution to the increasing crime rates in carnapping.

He said “this cannot even answer the breakdown of the charges and where the amount will go.”

Bacal said the LTO still lacks 500 plates for newly bought vehicles, based on the complaint of one of the car dealers in the city.

“This should be answered first. How about other car dealers? That’s why there are plenty of cars running with signage that read ‘Registered. No Plate Available,” Bacal added.

Simeon Gorra, LTO-Cagayan de Oro Transportation Registration chief, said in a report that all motor vehicles shall be required to change their license plates with the new plate design upon the renewal of its registration.

The new plate will then have its expiry date and should be renewed every five year thereafter under the standardization program.

However, motor vehicles will retain their plate numbers and only the plate design will be changed.

The planned standardization aims to address the proliferation of fake and tampered license plates and the illegal transfer of plates.

The plate standardization program is also designed to improve the motor vehicle registration database system, facilitate vehicle identification and enhance law enforcement.

The standardized plates will have enhanced security features such as bar code containing the vehicle’s plate number, chassis and engine numbers, serial number of the permanent plate locks and third plate sticker.

Gorra said the bottom portion of the standardized plates will also contain the region where the vehicle was initially registered for private vehicles, the name of agency for government vehicles, the franchised route for public utility vehicles, and the port of origin for other exempt vehicles.

Under the said program, issuance of commemorative plates will no longer be allowed, but existing commemorative plates will be permitted only until their respective expiration dates without further extension. (Abigail Chee Kee Malalis)