A WHOPPING 65 percent of all motor vehicles in the Philippines are unregistered, according to the Land Transportation Office (LTO), as the agency warned of its resolve to crack down on the owners of such vehicles in 2024.
In a statement released Friday, Dec. 29, 2023, the LTO put the number of the delinquent motor vehicles in the country at around 24.7 million.
The agency said the end of the Christmas season means the end of its holiday leniency and the start of its aggressive implementation of the “No Registration, No Travel” campaign that involves the meting out of penalties, including a P10,000 fine, to those caught without registration papers.
“We will be reviving our strict ‘No Registration, No Travel’ campaign across the country, so wala ng (no more) warning lang (only),” LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said of those apprehended by LTO enforcers and other agencies deputized by the agency.
He then appealed to delinquent motor vehicle owners to find the time to renew the registration of their motor vehicles “to avoid paying hefty fines.”
In December, Mendoza said the LTO had gone easy on delinquent motor vehicle owners by “just warning them instead of issuing ticket violations during the holiday season.”
Road safety
Motor vehicle registration enables the government to ensure that the vehicles on the road are all road-worthy to reduce the cases of fatal road accidents, Mendoza said.
In the Philippines, road accidents kill an average of 32 people every day, the LTO said, citing United Nations data.
“Our determination to have all these delinquent motor vehicles registered is primarily about safety for all road users,” said the transport official.
Mendoza said he had ordered the creation of fast lanes or special lanes for delinquent motor vehicle registration in all LTO offices nationwide to to speed up registration.
Five-year plan
Last May, the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the World Health Organization (WHO), and road safety partners launched the Philippine Road Safety Action Plan 2023-2028 after acknowledging the increase in road traffic deaths.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, road traffic deaths increased by 39 percent to 11,096 deaths in 2021, from 7,938 deaths in 2011.
Road traffic injuries are the top cause of death of Filipinos 15-29 years old, as well as a major killer of children, the WHO said.
The Philippine Road Safety Action Plan 2023-2028 aims to reduce the number of road traffic deaths by 35 percent in 2028.
Five pillars
The action plan has five pillars for creating a safer road environment, of which having “safer vehicles” is one of them. This pillar involves improving vehicle registration and inspection systems and compliance to harmonized vehicle standards and regulations, among other things.
The other pillars are road safety management, safer road, safer road users and post-crash response.
The “road safety management” pillar highlights the need to strengthen the DOTr as the lead agency for road safety, establishing quality data, enhancing research, “engaging stakeholders, promoting multimodal public transportation and land-use planning, and advocating for adherence to applicable international agreements and adoption of global best practices on road safety,” the WHO said during the launch of the action plan.
The “safer road” pillar involves safety in infrastructure design, construction and operation to address the safety and mobility needs of vulnerable road users like motorcyclists, bicyclists, pedestrians, children, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities.
The “safer road users” pillar emphasizes increasing public awareness and support for road safety, highlighting the importance of strict enforcement of laws on road safety.
The “post-crash response” pillar focuses on improving access to pre-hospital care, trauma care, and rehabilitation for road crash victims.