LTO logo. INQUIRER FILES
The Land Transportation Office’s (LTO) “no registration, no travel” policy might have been effective as it drove out hundreds of thousands of negligent motorists to finally have their vehicles registered.
Based on the LTO data released on Friday, owners of a total of 272,233 delinquent motor vehicles have renewed their expired registration from Jan. 1 to Jan. 31. This happened after the campaign was suspended in December in the spirit of Christmas.
The figure was a mere 1 percent of the 24.7-million delinquent vehicles, or those whose owners either failed or deliberately refused to have their motor vehicles registered for more than a year. These are motor vehicles in the country the LTO reported last year.
The renewal of expired motor vehicles for the entire month included 198,283 motorcycles; 20,427 cars; a total of 34,436 utility vehicles (local or imported pickups, and passenger vans or wagons); 12,123 sports utility vehicles; 5,617 taxis; 1,098 tricycles; and 168 buses.
A total of 1,966 motor vehicles were already impounded in January, of which 1,735 or 88 percent were motorcycles.
The LTO said 20.15 million motorcycles in the country are not registered, or 81.5 percent of the total number of delinquent vehicles.
Mostly in Metro Manila
The regions that recorded the most number of delinquent vehicles also recorded the most number of renewal of registrations this month.
LTO-National Capital Region recorded 48,490 renewal of registration; followed by LTO-Calabarzon with 39,680; LTO-Central Visayas with 30,021; and LTO-Central Luzon with 25,456.
Vigor Mendoza II, chief of the LTO, committed to “personally monitor” the progress of the campaign, saying the goal is to have all the more than 24 million delinquent motor vehicles to renew their expired registration in the “soonest possible time.”
The LTO has partnered with the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine National Police and local governments in apprehending unregistered motor vehicles.
Mendoza has also been meeting up with transport groups whose members brought up complaints and concerns of legitimate PUV operators and drivers about hardheaded drivers and operators of “colorum” vehicles that continue to ply their routes.