Cops impound 407 more vehicles without LTO plates

A total of 407 more vehicles were impounded by police nationwide as part of the intensified "no plate, no travel" policy of the government, Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes announced yesterday.

Reyes said a son of a town mayor in Ilocos Sur was among those whose vehicles were flagged down. He was caught in Cubao, Quezon City for numerous violations.

"The son of a mayor did not have a driver’s license, the vehicle registration had expired and the car did not have license plate. He will be charged accordingly," Reyes told reporters during a press conference at the PNP grandstand at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Reyes said of the 407 vehicles impounded, 34 cars and 27 motorcycles were from Metro Manila.

"This is in response to the call of our President for an intensified campaign against criminality in our streets and to assure the public of safe communities," the DILG chief said.

Last Thursday, Reyes inspected 66 vehicles that were flagged down on Metro Manila roads for not having Land Transportation Office (LTO) plates. Some had only conduction stickers while others sported unauthorized commemorative plates.

"This should serve as a lesson to everybody that the government means business in implementing the ‘no plate, no travel’ policy. We want to teach people a lesson. People have brazenly taken this law for granted," Reyes pointed out.

In a related development, the LTO belied claims by new car owners that they have an insufficient supply of license plates. Agency officials said they have at least 18,000 plates ready for distribution.

"Don’t blame us for the backlog, the problem is not with us, but with the dealers of the cars," one LTO official said.

Meanwhile, a total of 110 persons linked to various offenses, ranging from robbery, snatching and car theft, were rounded up in Metro Manila as part of President Arroyo’s directive to ensure a safer community.

Reyes said the operations were carried out in the five police districts of the National Capital Region in the last three days.

"We have arrested and inquested a total of 110 people as a result of this campaign and the police pounding the pavement, conducting community patrols," Reyes added.

Police said 58 were collared by the Central Police District, 19 by the Western Police District, 16 by the Southern Police District (SPD), 14 by the Eastern Police District and three by the Northern Police District .

NPD director Chief Superintendent Raul Gonzales clarified they have caught 58 people, who have been inquested, charged and committed to the jails.

"Since they have been committed to the jails, they were not allowed to go out, so we can’t present them here," he said.

Mrs. Arroyo ordered an intensified campaign against all forms of criminality following a series of killings, including that of former Pasig City Rep. Henry Lanot and Foreign Affairs official Alicia Ramos.