Suspend “No Plate, No Travel” Policy- Cayetano

The Land Transportation Office’s should suspend implementation of its “No Plate, No Travel” policy, as it’s unduly punishing motorists for the agency’s inefficiency.

Senator Alan S. Cayetano on Tuesday called for a 30-day moratorium on the policy’s implementation, pointing out that the LTO and its license plate contractor failed to deliver and process license plates on new vehicles.

“People should not bear the burden of government inefficiency,” Cayetano said. “Vehicle owners are penalized for not having license plates that the LTO and its private contractor failed to deliver on time.”

Cayetano reminded LTO that there was a delay in the availability and issuance of license plates caused by the agency and its plate supplier.

“Media earlier reported the delay in the issuance of license plates by the LTO, creating an unnecessary backlog,” he said. “Plus car dealers cite the insufficient LTO manpower involved in the releasing of plates. Thus, even though plates have been made available, issuing it to vehicles has been a slow process.”

Given this, Cayetano said, a 30-day moratorium should straighten out kinks in the process, without unduly punishing motorists with fines. The moratorium, he says, will give the private contractor time to produce the new plates, the LTO to overcome the backlog and car dealers to immediately claim the car plates of the buyers. Car dealers earlier claimed they have paid LTO for the plates.

And to make sure the public would not be punished unwittingly because of government inefficiency, Cayetano said he is set to file a bill which will hold government officials and private contractors liable and accountable when there is a delay in government agency’s actions, which ultimately causes inconvenience to the public.

“Let’s make sure government officials and private contractors are doing their job,” he said. “And when they don’t, they should be the ones penalized and not the public.”

The “No Plate, No Travel” policy stems from DOTC’s Memorandum Circular No. AVT-2015-1927 took effect last April 1st. Under this regulation if a vehicle does not have updated plates, vehicle owners will pay a P10,000 fine, while the driver will pay P 1,000. If the driver is able to present only a certificate of registration and an official receipt as proof of registration, the driver will be fined P5,000 for failure to attach plates.

The LTO earlier stood pat on the policy’s effectivity, claiming it is just implementing existing laws. This despite appeals from Cayetano and motorists to delay the policy’s implementation and amidst criticism the policy violates car owners’ rights.

Senate of the Phils.