LTO chief to motorists: Report your old, temporary plates for documentation

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — Vehicle owners, with old and temporary (backlog) plates which registration date falls on or before August 2013, were being urged to report to the Land Transportation Office for documentation.

Alberta Janine Lawas, chief of  the LTO in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental, explained that those with backlog plates and were undocumented, before the deadline for submission of reports to the LTO Central Office, will be covered by the “no plate, no travel” policy.

Lawas said the LTO regional office was seeking for an extension of the deadline for the submission of backlog plates as there are still walk-in clients that come by in trickles. The LTO is expected to implement the “no plate, no travel” policy most likely in three months’ time, she added.

There are still too many motorists out there, especially those from remote or hinterland areas, who were still unknowledgeable for the LTO’s plate standardization program mandating that, starting this year, new plates with a new design will take effect, Lawas told The FREEMAN.

Lawas said her office was still in the process of consolidation of backlog plates so that a report can be submitted to the LTO Central Office as bases for assignment of permanent plates.

Vehicles registered on September 2013 and onwards are covered by the plate standardization program and, as such, are automatically assigned new plate numbers, she said, although no new design plates have arrived yet.

However, those with backlog plates, including old and temporary ones, were encouraged to report to the nearest LTO and bring with them original copies of their original receipt or certificate of registration so they can be included in the report.

Vehicles that were registered or which registration was renewed at the regional LTO were automatically included in the program, Lawas said. Beginning this year, registration of vehicles (new and renewal) would automatically include a charge of P450 each for the new plate, she added.

The new plate, with alpha-numeric in black on a white background, and with new multiple security features, will be released 45 days after registration or renewal of vehicles, Lawas said. — Judy Flores Partlow (FREEMAN)