“The head of the LTO was the very first appointee of the President. Why has she turned out to be the worst of his appointees? And, to think that the LTO (when this administration came in) was just about the best performing agency of the previous administrations!”
by Ducky Paredes
There was a time — not too long ago — when the Land Transportation Office (LTO) was the model agency of the government. From one that took months to issue a simple thing like a driver’s license or to register a motor vehicle (and having to pay “fixers” who could speed up the process, the LTO computerized its system and — lo and behold — no more fixers and our licenses and car registrations could all be done in a few hours!
What a relief that was for motorists!
Why is the LTO now looking more and more like the LTO of old?
Why couldn’t the LTO officials have just continued with a system that was working? There is a wise saying that goes like tins: If it ain’t broke, why fix it?
Some months back, the LTO got rid of Stradcom, the private firm that handled its computerization program. Of course, getting the Stradcom out od he picture gravely inconvenienced the public because this caused delays in the processing and issuance of driver’s licenses.
Now, it seems like the LTO is looking for ways to further inconvenience the public. The LTO not only fails to address the delays in the processing and issuance of certificates of registration and license plates for new vehicles. In fact, the LTO itself is creating and causing the delays.
New car buyers always have a problem because they cannot have a regular license plate. All that the car dealer can give them is a conduction sticker. We’re all familiar with that and the fact that having just a conduction sticker (and no license plate) can delay you since every traffic enforcer or cop on the street can stop you to check on your registration papers.
The LTO also has a new fee. It charges P300 per stencil of your vehicle and motor number, Now, however, the LTO wants seven stencils. That comes up to P2,800 per vehicle for stenciling alone! What they will do with seven stencils when only one was enough since vehicles had to be registered beginning when we were still a colony? This new requirement of seven stencils is something incomprehensible!
That’s not the end of it. Now, your new car’s certificate of registration and license plate will not be released for another two to three months. In the meantime, your car has depreciated. Also, don’t get into an accident in the meantime! Imagine the problems you will have with the police and the insurance adjusters! They can’t report the accident without a license number for your car!
This also affects the car dealer in a big way. When a car is financed by a bank or other financing institution, payment is made to the dealer only when the vehicle’s registration papers and the license plate have been presented to the bank. This is necessary since the lender needs to annotate the mortgage in the registration papers of the vehicle.
Thus, the car had already been released to the buyer and yet the dealer (and the car manufacturer) have not received any money yet. Instead, they have to wait out the processing of the vehicle’s papers. How much are they losing because of this delay? One guesses that they lose outright at least two percent of the purchase price!
Is the LTO doing a service to car owners and the automobile industry? Or, has it gone back to being an incompetent government agency? Is it so difficult for those running the LTO to improve the system instead of mucking it up? Or, would a new crop of employees do a better job than those now manning the LTO offices from the head down to the lowest fixer.
Is the LTO there to serve the public or are car owners there to be taken for a ride? Clearly, the LTO can work faster if it had a mind to properly do its job. Why, for instance, are special plates issued within days while regular plates take forever? Is this because one pays extra for special plates?
Is it simply that the LTO has been exempted from travelling on the matuwid na daan like the rest of this administration?
The head of the LTO was the very first appointee of the President. Why has she turned out to be the worst of his appointees?
And, to think that the LTO (when this administration came in) was just about the best performing agency of the previous administrations!
* * *
We have a letter: “Pnoy is right in mentioning the opportunistic unprofessionalism of Noli de Castro. Noli truly had his golden opportunity to do the right thing but he was too busy with the Global Asiatique deals and hundreds of money making ventures in the sensational billion peso housing scam he got into in the housing fiasco of 1994-2010.
“Not contented with his power and money, he always displayed his awesome wealth and power every time he could, like the sudden traffic in one QC Commercial Center which was caused by his stretch Bentley Limousine parked in the middle of a lane occupying half of a busy thoroughfare in front of an American burger joint he was opening as guest of honor. He should have had even an iota of decency and integrity by just adhering (even minimal at that) to the code of professional ethics in journalism by being fair and just telling the news as it is.
“Better yet, he should just follow what the previous media men before him, who were gentlemen and dignified enough to maintain low profiles after their exemplary performances (better than Noli’s) in the senate/public service, like then Senators (truly Honorable Senators) Orly Mercado and Eddie Ilarde.
“However, knowing Noli (the crying anchor who cried in Public for sipsip effect to his network, over petty network war with rival channel, during Pope John Paul’s visit in the 90’s) he can do dumb things just to survive and to regain his falling rating since his program has been tailing the more popular and fair GMA Kapuso’s ‘24 Oras.’
“The more disturbing issue is when Noli tries to run for the senate again next year. His win, like most movie and media personalities’ winning, will just prove the Pinoy electorates’ gullibility, stubborn-ness and ‘bahala’ na attitude which could only explain the very serious quagmire, fiasco and bottomless pit we Filipinos are in (walang kadala-dala).” — Mon Magbanua
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hvp 08.01.12
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