52 thousand car plates for claiming

CEBU, Philippines — The long wait is over for 52,120 vehicle owners in Central Visayas after their official license plates have finally arrived and are ready for claiming.

Land Transportation Office-7 director Victor Caindec said that the plates for vehicles registered from March 2017 to May 2018 are now up for releasing during mall hours on the upper ground floor of SM Seaside City from February 9 to 16.

Caindec said the process of claiming would take about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the volume of claimants during the day.

Caindec advised owners to claim their license plates as soon as possible as they may be held liable if they don’t have one even though the plates are already available for release.

He also stressed that drivers who fail to attach their plate numbers and are apprehended during inspection will face a fine of P5,000.

LTO-7 has deputized 400 police personnel to apprehend traffic violators, including those without registration for their vehicles.

Meanwhile, more than 8,000 of the 23,625 license plates for vehicles registered from July 2016 to February 2017 are still up for claiming. These were part of the first batch of license plates released last year.

Caindec said that motor vehicles registered from June 2016 to February 2017 can be claimed from their respective dealers.

Those claiming should bring with them a photocopy of the official receipt and certification (OR/CR), photocopy of two government or valid ID, and if authorized, one must present an authorization letter from the owner and a valid ID of the owner and the authorized person.

The license plates for vehicles registered before June 2016 are still pending due to the Commission on Audit's disallowance, while license plates for motorcycles are still on hold due to a pending bill at Congress seeking to resize and redesign such plates. — Clark Y. Panugalinog, USJ-R Intern, JMD, (FREEMAN)