Senator
Alan Peter Cayetano questions LTO officials at the joint hearing
of the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee and the Committee on
Public Services regarding the agency's questionable license
plate program. Cayetano had called for the suspension of LTO's
'No Plate, No Travel' policy, noting that the agency should not
have imposed unjust fines to car owners and drivers for its own
failure to issue license plates and car registrations on time. |
LTO heeds
Cayetano’s call, suspends ‘no plate no travel’ policy
By Office of the Senate
Majority Leader
May 26, 2015
PASAY CITY – After a
series of hearings conducted at the Senate, the Land Transportation
Office (LTO) finally heeded to the calls of Senate Majority Leader
Alan Peter Cayetano and the public to suspend its ‘No Plate, No
Travel’ policy.
“Ako’y natutuwa na nagka-solution…
that LTO met with car dealers, and tried to solve the existing
problems,” Cayetano said in an interview on the sidelines of the
Senate Committee on Public Services and Blue Ribbon Subcommittee's
joint investigation on the alleged irregularities in the agency’s
license plate program.
“Pero kung kinonsulta siguro
muna nila ang mga tao bago ipatupad ang polisiya, hindi na sana
nangyari itong napakalaking problema,” he added.
Admitting to the agency’s
problems as cited by Cayetano, and acknowledging the inconvenience it
had brought to the public, LTO officials finally agreed to the
senator’s proposal to defer the implementation of its policy.
Cayetano said he welcomes
LTO's decision, but asserted that he will continue monitoring updates
on the issue.
"While we commend LTO's
suspension of its 'No Plate, No Travel' policy, it does not end here.
We know that the DOTC, among other agencies in government, are still
riddled with several problems that cause burden to the people. That is
why we will continue to guard the public against any government
inefficiency," Caytenao said.
The senator earlier blasted
the LTO for imposing unjust penalties to car owners and drivers under
its ‘No Plate, No Travel’ policy, while noting that it was in fact the
agency’s fault that there had been a delay in the issuance of plates
for new vehicles.
He also cited LTO’s failure
to clarify the guidelines of its regulation to law enforcers on the
ground, which he feared could have caused confusion and possible abuse
of the public.
Cayetano said LTO enforcers
should not have penalized car owners who travel without the necessary
license plates, provided they have shown proof of registration.
He said no fine should be
imposed if the motorist can present an official receipt, since the LTO
failed to issue the license plate, considering the current shortage.
"The public should not in
any way be burdened by what is clearly a product of the LTO’s and the
plate contractor’s failure to deliver and process plates on new
vehicles," he said.
"Vehicle owners who have
registered their vehicles promptly should not have been barred from
using their vehicles nor penalized for government's inefficiency," he
added.