DOTC to bring LTO system row to CA

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will elevate to the Court of Appeals (CA) a writ of preliminary injunction by a Quezon City court stopping the bidding for a new P8-billion contract to build an information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure for the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

The Office of the Solicitor General, which represents the DOTC, said Judge Afable Cajigal of Regional Trial Court Branch 96, in issuing the writ last May 15, committed “an outrageous and flagrant violation of Republic Act 8975, which prohibits the issuance by lower courts of orders of injunction, among others, against national government infrastructure projects.”

The DOTC said it already started the bidding process for the P8 billion LTO-ICT project since its contract with current provider Stradcom Corp. will expire in February 2013.

The 13-year-old LTO IT system, the DOTC claimed, was no longer responsive to current land transportation regulation requirements.

Once the automation systems of the LTO and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board are up and running, the government will be able to eliminate cases of PUVs securing an LTFRB franchise without LTO registration, as well as PUVs that are registered with the LTO but have no LTFRB franchise, the DOTC said.

Cajigal’s writ enlarged an earlier injunction issued in a case filed by Realtime Data Management Services, Inc. (RDMS) and Amalgamated Motors Philippines Inc. (AMPI) involving the bidding for the supply and delivery of driver’s license cards to the LTO as a result of DOTC Special Order 2011-181 and Department Order 2010-36.

RDMS is one of four information technology firms providing connectivity to private emission testing centers with the LTO ICT system. AMPI, on the other hand, has been the LTO’s supplier of driver’s license cards for 20 years and counting.

The court enjoined the DOTC “from proceeding with the bidding under the new invitation to bid by reason of Special Order 2011-181,” which affects the DOTC-LTO’s bidding for the new ICT system.– With Jose Rodel Clapano