DOTC to comply with TRO on controversial RFID

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications will defer the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court on their controversial radio frequency identification (RFID) project that was already being implemented by the Land Transportation Office at the start of the year.

Thompson Lantion, DOTC spokesman and Undersecretary for Maritime Transport, said that as the highest court of the land has ordered, they will freeze the implementation of the project by the LTO. “Of course, we’ll stop the project implementation because of the TRO,” Lantion said.

Lantion pointed out that the LTO director, Assistant Secretary Arturo Lomibao had already issued a directive to his regional directors ordering them to stop implementing the installation of the RFID tags as a result of the SC ruling. Lantion said that the LTO has to be the one to resolve issues on the refund of the RFID fees paid by motorists who had registered their vehicles before the SC TRO.

George San Mateo, secretary-general of the militant transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON) for his part, hailed the SC issuance of the TRO, saying it was an initial victory for those who were determinedly fighting the alleged anomalous RFID project. “While we are not surprised because we believe that the irregularities in the RFID project are glaring, we are very happy just the same that the Supreme Court granted our petition for a TRO. Next is the permanent injunction which we hope they will also issue soon,” San Mateo said. 

San Mateo stressed that another problem they detected in the RFID project was the alleged deficiencies in the RFID tags being installed by the LTO and its project contractor Stradcom Corp., claiming that it does not work when installed on high-end vehicles. San Mateo said that high-end cars have ultra-violet rays in their windshields that cause the RFID tags not to work properly.

 It will be recalled that PISTON, along with party-list groups Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and Gabriela, had filed a petition before the Supreme Court on Dec. 19 asking for the scrapping of the project which they said was anomalous and awarded without public bidding to LTO’s computerization contractor, Stradcom Corp.

A vehicle owner will be charged a fee of P350 for each RFID tag. The petitioners also pointed out that the DOTC had failed to submit the project to the National Economic Development Authority for review.

As a result of vocal opposition from private motorists groups and public transport drivers, the DOTC had earlier postponed the implentation of the order last October, resetting the start of the project implementation this January.

With an estimated 5.5 million motor vehicles in the country and a P350 fee for one RFID tag, Stradcom and the LTO is seen to earn about P1.9 billion from the project.

RFID refund

Moreover, former Sen. Ralph Recto called yesterday for a refund of government payments on the RFID project after the Supreme Court suspended the implementation of the project through a “status quo order.” Recto said the LTO should make the reimbursements now instead of charging the amount in future transactions of motor vehicle owners like in the yearly renewal of their car registration.

“The principle that must be observed here is that you must be reimbursed for a service that has been cancelled. It can’t be ‘pay now and be refunded months later’,” Recto, who was also former socio-economic planning secretary or National Economic Development Authority chief, said.

“The last time I checked, the government has not adopted a “no return-no exchange policy” for services cancelled or delivered. The refund should not be premised on the final ruling of the high court on the matter. If you were compelled to pay for a thing that gets cancelled, then they must be compelled to refund,” Recto said. He said the suggestion of the LTO that money paid for the RFID stickers be made chargeable against future transactions with the agency would be unfair to new vehicle owners whose units got a three-year car registration.

“If the payment is due and demandable, the refund should be the same,” the former senator said.

Recto lauded the SC for issuing a status quo ante order on the RFID.

“From the very start I have already warned that the LTO did not go through the legal process in implementing this program, particularly subjecting it to a review by the NEDA,” Recto said. He added the RFID should not be hurried under the present administration, which would bow out in a few months.