NEWLY appointed officials of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) want to consolidate their policies with those of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to shorten the process of vehicle registration.
LTO 7 OIC-Director Alita Pulga said that LTFRB has some requirements that duplicate the functions of LTO. These should be discontinued, she said, and similar policies of both government offices must be harmonized.
LTO has the mandate to register all vehicles that will be found roadworthy after inspection.
LTFRB, whose mandate is to issue franchise to all public utility vehicles (PUVs), also inspect the vehicles to ensure that these are roadworthy.
Redundant
Transport group leaders lament the redundant policies of the two agencies.
Julito Flores of the Cebu South Mini-Bus Operators Association (CSMBOA) and Richard Corominas of the Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Association (CPBOA) said the duplication of functions result to unnecessary expenses.
Corominas said the LTO must be given the task to conduct the inspection because it has the necessary equipment and manpower.
Flores and Corominas reminded LTO and LTFRB of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte last July 25 that processing time for transactions in government offices must be cut by at least 50 percent.
Flores said that following the President’s order, LTFRB no longer requires a certification from the Department of Labor and Employment from vehicle owners who renew their franchise.
LTFRB also no longer requires an inspection and certification from the Department of Tourism in the registration of tourist buses.
Speaking during the monthly meeting of bus operators at the Sacred Heart Center, Pulga said she will raise the issue during their command conference in Manila today.
Another concern noted by Pulga is that while the LTFRB issues a franchise to a PUV with changed engine if there is an affidavit signed by the owner, the LTO will not do so unless there are source documents.
Registration
“The engine from chop-chop vehicles have no source documents so the LTO will not register it. There must only be one LTO/LTFRB regulation,” Pulga said.
Pulga added that the LTFRB has no way to determine whether the Certificate of Registration (CR) and Official Receipt (OR) of a vehicle subject of application for franchise are genuine or fake.
For their part, the bus operators also asked the LTO to stop the use of Motor Vehicles Inspection Service (MVIC) in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City because this is already defective.
Flores said that since the MVIC is defective, it’s already a waste of money to use it and require operators to pay the inspection fee.
Pulga admitted that MVIC, which was constructed and installed in the 1990s, is defective so that they are now organizing a team of inspectors to inspect all vehicles that are scheduled for registration.
“We are proposing an off-site inspection whereby the inspection will go to the garage of a bus operator where they will conduct the necessary inspection,” Pulga said.
However, Pulga told bus operators that they will train inspectors starting Aug. 13 and they will focus on bus inspections as prerequisite to vehicle registration.
Pulga said the inspection team may go to the garage of bus operators provided they will send advance request two months before the expiry of registration validity.
The inspection fee must be paid to the LTO prior to the inspection and the operators must submit the list of his units and the plate numbers.
“Once the request to inspect and the operator’s garage will be approved by LTO and the date and time of the inspection is set, the units must be there when the inspectors arrive,” Pulga said.