MANILA, Philippines — The government should stop charging people who report the theft of their vehicles, according to a lawmaker.
“They are victims performing their civic duty, reporting a public crime, so they should not be penalized with any filing fee either at the police station, barangay [watchman] outpost, or at the LTO (Land Transportation Office),” Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy said in a statement on Tuesday.
The current practice reportedly discourages citizens from reporting stolen vehicles.
Citing reports from a group of motorcycle riders, Dy said the Philippine National Police charges between P100 and P200 for issuing a report on a stolen vehicle.
Both the LTO and PNP Highway Patrol Group, on the other hand, supposedly charge P150 each for a certification that the vehicle had been stolen.
Victims need the documents for insurance claims and to allow authorities to put out a nationwide alert for the stolen vehicle, among other things.
Disadvantageous
Aside from the charging of a fee, the current reporting system for a stolen vehicle is also “so disadvantageous” to victims because one would need to take a leave from work just to file a report, Dy said.
“The LTO and PNP should have an online electronic stolen vehicle reporting system that is as easy to use as a mobile booking application of a [transport network company],” she added.
Dy urged the LTO and PNP to use social networking site Facebook as a registry platform while they come up with their online anticar theft portal.