LTO: Vehicle owners can’t choose plate numbers

MANILA, Philippines - The Land Transportation Office (LTO) warned vehicle owners yesterday against those promising to give them plate numbers with choice digits.

In an advisory, the LTO said plate numbers are system- or computer- generated and randomly assigned to motor vehicles.

The LTO said there have been reports that “certain unscrupulous persons and entities” were promising new or newly registered motor vehicle owners choice last digits in their plate numbers for a fee.

Some vehicle owners are requesting certain numerals for the last digits of their plate numbers as the last digit represents the day on which a vehicle would be off the roads under the number coding scheme.

But in its advisory, the agency said: “No choice as to the plate number can be given to any motor vehicle owner.”

“No human intervention, outside of encoding the motor vehicle file number, is involved in this process,” the agency said.

The LTO asked motorists to report any person or entity making such an “impossible promise” and collecting fees the agency said are “unlawful.”