THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) clarified that the number coding scheme they are considering is only a temporary measure to address traffic congestion in the Davao Region.
LTO assistant secretary Vigor D. Mendoza II, in a media interview on Thursday, January 23, 2025, said that the number coding system is a short-term solution among several strategies being considered to ease traffic in the area.
“Sa ibang bansa kung saan may traffic din naman wala namang number coding merong mga congestion fee charging it’s just one solution that can fix the traffic problem ang nakikita natin ay multiple solution para magkaroon ng magandang impact (In other countries facing traffic problems, they don’t use number coding but instead implement congestion fees. This is just one approach. What we need is a combination of solutions for a more significant impact),” he said.
LTO-Davao Regional Director, Lawyer Ernesto Raphael Robillo, added that their office is exploring additional measures to manage road congestion. He said they are considering a study to identify vehicles by model and number, which could help propose viable solutions to lawmakers.
"Baka pwede natin siguro gayahin yung coding yung certain car for a day, yung tatakbo ganitng plaka lang and afternoon during rush hour ipiliin na natin ang pwedeng tumakbo sa ating kalsada (We could implement a coding system where certain vehicles operate on specific days based on their license plate numbers. During rush hours, we can further limit which vehicles are allowed on the roads),” Robillo said during the Davao Peace and Security Press Briefing on January 22, 2025, at the Royal Mandaya Hotel.
Another proposal under review is ensuring that only valid and registered vehicles are allowed on the roads. Robillo stressed that reducing the number of unregistered vehicles would help decongest traffic.
LTO-Davao earlier reported 1,804 apprehensions for unregistered vehicles, with motorcycles accounting for the majority (1,187), followed by private vehicles (160) and SUVs (144). RGP