MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office (LTO) will use malls as distribution centers for unclaimed license plates, the office said in a statement on Tuesday.
LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said that the move would ensure that the agency’s district offices will not be overwhelmed by claimants.
An appointment scheme is also being eyed to be enforced to allow the smooth distribution and release of license plates.
“We are now looking at the distribution system. We are talking to dealers and malls that can also be points of distribution, not necessarily our own district offices because they might be overwhelmed,” Mendoza said partly in Filipino.
“Then we will also start the appointment system. So the people who want to [apply for] a plate would need [to] make an appointment.”
Mendoza did not give a date when these distribution centers will be used.
Meanwhile, he said that “mystery applicants” would also be tasked to verify information that some individuals have been using the distribution process for money — specifically, asking drivers for a P200 fee to get their license plates without falling in line.
Mendoza said he was planning to allow most transactions with the LTO to be done online to provide a more efficient and effective service.
“We will have to shift some of our transactions from walk-in to online. Nandiyan ‘yung app eh, tumatakbo na ‘yan eh, hindi lang natin nagagamit so within this year I hope that we can shift the majority of our transactions to online appointments. Hindi ‘yung walk-in, walk-in lang,” he explained.
“We will have to shift some of our transactions from walk-in to online. The app is there. It’s running. We just can’t use it. So within this year, I hope that we can shift the majority of our transactions to online appointments so that it won’t just be conducted through walk-in appointments.”