Legal larceny at LTO

Car owners are up in arms over the hare-brained scheme hatched by some smart guys at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) requiring vehicle owners to pay an additional P450 to acquire new license plates for their old vehicles.

In a Senate hearing last week, an incensed Sen. Ralph Recto scolded LTO officials for not allowing motor vehicles to just keep their old but still serviceable license plates. The fiery Batangueño argued that the installation of new car plates should only be limited to brand-new vehicles for registration.

We agree with Senator Recto. Forcing car owners to cough up P450 for new car plates when there’s nothing wrong with their old ones is tantamount to highway robbery. Somebody should remind the smart guys at the LTO of the old adage: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

As it is, motorists already face so many hardships and difficulties on the road. Gridlocked traffic. High fuel prices. Air pollution. Robbery syndicates. You name it, the Filipino driver has seen it.

And now, from out of nowhere, we have this strange requisite of daang matuwid: P450 for new car plates. Vehicle owners have no choice but to pay; otherwise, their car-registration renewal will not be processed.

Recto said there is simply no logic to the plan of Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to replace all existing car-license plates to conform to a new design and then to charge vehicle owners P450 for cars and other vehicles, and P120 for motorcycles.

What is worse is the LTO cannot even deliver new plates for vehicles and here they are charging owners of old vehicles to change their old plates without question. The LTO just has to look around to see how many cars have no plates because their supplier cannot produce them fast enough.

“If there’s no problem with current license plates, why the need to change them and ask vehicle owners to pay for new license plates? What will they get in return?” Recto said both the DOTC and the maker of new plates stand to make a killing by creating a captive market for a product to include all existing vehicles.

We wonder why the so-called transport advocacy groups are silent over this questionable LTO policy. These organizations claim to represent motorists but why aren’t they complaining the way they do every time there is an increase in the fare of public-utility vehicles?

Instead of implementing this policy that stands to benefit favored suppliers along with their cohorts in the government, why can’t the LTO just think of ways to ease the monstrous traffic jams in the metropolis?

Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and JV Ejercito also took turns in grilling officials of the LTO and the DOTC over allegations of irregularities surrounding the contract to purchase P3.8 billion worth of new vehicle-license plates from a foreign supplier.

Ejercito wants the alleged anomalies in the bidding process for the procurement of motor-vehicle plates investigated.  According to him, the bids and awards committee favored the Dutch Company J. Knieriem BV-Goes despite its alleged questionable financial capability and experience.

Recto also pointed out why the contract for new vehicle plates was bidded out in 2013 despite not having enough funds for it in the budget. He said it was clear there was no P3.8 billion in appropriations for the project.

“I’ve been a member of the House of Representatives for nine years and 10 years in the Senate. My understanding of the General Appropriations Act is that if the appropriation is insufficient, there should be no bidding as there is no authorization from the government,” he said.

We just wish the LTO and the DOTC would stop imposing these useless policies clearly skewed in favor of suppliers instead of the public they are sworn to serve. If they can’t help ordinary motorists, they should at least refrain from making life even more difficult than it already is.