SC nixes RFID deal of LTO

The Supreme Court has ordered the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to return nearly P30 million it collected from vehicle owners for radio frequency identification (RFID) vehicle registration project that was scuttled in 2010.

In its Jan. 31 ruling made public on Wednesday, the tribunal said the microchip-based system which LTO awarded to Stradcom Corp. during the Arroyo administration was unlawful.

The court agreed with the contention of the main petitioner, former Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo, that the collection of P350 for each RFID device was illegal as it did not undergo public bidding.

It said the memorandum of agreement between Stradcom and LTO and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) in 2009 for the RFID system was a separate project and not just an enhancement of their existing build-own-operate agreement.

“The RFID (project) must, thus, be struck down by this court for failure to comply with the rules on public bidding,” said the ruling written by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. The LTO had collected P29,894,200 in RFID fees. —Marlon Ramos