TO REDUCE the backlog of over 600,000 license plates that still need to find their rightful owners in the region, the distribution of license plates will now be handled by the vehicle dealers.
Glen Galario, the newly installed director of the Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO 7), made this announcement during his first press conference on Thursday, July 6, 2023 since assuming his position, during which he also dropped the bomb that 40 percent, or around 400,000 of the estimated one million vehicles in Central Visayas, are unregistered.
Galario also vowed a crackdown on “colorum” public utility vehicle operators and choosy taxi drivers.
“For those who have not received their vehicular plates yet, you can inquire at the dealers since we’ve already assigned them for the distribution of the plates,” Galario said at the press conference held at the LTO 7 office on N. Bacalso Ave., Cebu City.
Of the license plates ready for release, 528,772 are for motorcycles while 71,564 are for motor vehicles.
The LTO 7 said since its implementation of the new approach to distribution using the dealers last Monday, July 3, around 5,000 plates had already been distributed to the vehicle owners.
In contrast, during the individual distribution setup in recent years, when individual vehicle owners went to the LTO distribution center to claim their license plates, only 50 to 100 released plates were made available each day. The distribution center in Cebu was at SM Seaside City Cebu in the South Road Properties in Cebu City.
By September, Galario expects the region’s plate distribution backlogs to have significantly decreased.
Marching order
This comes after Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista met last June 9 in Manila with the three regional directors who had the most license plates pending release.
In an interview with SunStar Cebu, Galario revealed that other LTO regional directors asked to fly to the DOTr central office in Manila were those of the National Capital Region and Eastern Visayas.
Galario said the license plates pending distribution are those accumulated in the past years, without specifying the months or years these license plates were from.
Galario said the agency’s target is to finish releasing all the unreleased license plates this year, as it has become challenging for LTO 7 to distribute the plates, especially with more license plate registrations coming in daily.
“Whatever the reason is, all license plates must be disposed of within the year,” Galario said.
Galario did not give other reasons why the unreleased license plates reached such large number.
However, national news reports trace the start of the problem to a shortage of license plates after the Commission on Audit (COA) issued a notice of disallowance in 2015 against the deal by the Department of Transportation and Communication with the company tasked to supply 15 million pairs of license plates for vehicles and motorcycles from 2013 to 2017, for having been awarded without a specific allocation in the 2014 national budget.
From then on, it became a game of catch-up, with the license plates becoming available only years after vehicles had been purchased from the dealers.
Unregistered vehicles
Galario also bared his plans to ensure “road safety,” reminding motorists driving unregistered vehicles that they will be apprehended and penalized accordingly.
According to LTO 7, 40 percent or around 400,000 of the estimated one million vehicles in the region remain unregistered.
LTO 7 will intensify roadside inspections to verify vehicle registrations and apprehend violators.
“We have to prioritize road safety. This is exactly why we have to make sure that the vehicles being driven in public roads are actually worthy and have passed through proper inspection. We never know what kinds of accidents might happen because a certain vehicle was defective or any other issue it might possess,” Galario said.
Acting Chief Aden Belza of the LTO 7 operations division said they have a designated impounding area for unregistered vehicles, a warning to motorists who believe that there is not enough space to accommodate apprehended vehicles.
The LTO 7 has a three-hectare impounding area in Talisay City. The area was a former Japanese tile factory.
Zero tolerance
Galario also said he would not tolerate anyone breaking traffic or land transportation laws.
Zero tolerance is applied to non-compliant vehicle dealers and even transport operators. Galario said the agency will look into complaints and, if any laws were broken, impose penalties.
He said he will strengthen the campaign against colorum or illegally operating public utility vehicles.
“Our operations division is on top of this campaign as we continue to strictly implement this drive to eliminate any kinds of illegal activities present on our roads, especially the colorums. I have instructed them to do random roadside inspections to catch these culprits,” he said.
He added that LTO 7’s law enforcement team will also implement “Oplan Isnabero,” the crackdown against taxi drivers who refuse to render service to passengers.
LTO 7 apprehended 9,557 individuals in the first six months of this year. Top offenders include people who drive recklessly, those that do not use their seatbelts as directed, and have vehicles with defective parts or accessories.
Plastic license cards
Galario assured motorists who were issued the temporary paper driver’s license that the regular plastic card versions will soon be released. LTO 7 is currently giving priority to the issuance of plastic driver’s license cards for overseas Filipino workers.
“We are still waiting for the arrival of plastic cards. When those arrive, we will start working on our backlogs and print them. Once they’re ready to be claimed, we’ll contact the recipients immediately,” he said.
Free TDC
Galario said LTO 7 will also continue offering the free Theoretical Driving Course (TDC) with the aim of issuing more free certificates to deserving individuals. He said local government units can request his office for a schedule for the TDC lecture to be conducted in their area.
Galario replaced Victor Caindec, who served the LTO 7 for over five years, last June 20. Galario was a politician in Bukidnon before entering the agency. (WITH CTL AND MIGUEL ANGELU LUMEN, CNU INTERN)