LTO to penalize unregistered car sale, mortgage soon

Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Vigor Mendoza II speaks to members of the media during a press conference at the New MMDA Building in Pasig City on Thursday, February 15, 2024. Mendoza said on May 31, 2024, that the LTO is eyeing to penalize the unregistered sale or mortgage of vehicles in the country by mid-June. Arnel Tacson / INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—The Land Transportation Office (LTO) is looking to penalize the unregistered sale or mortgage of vehicles in the country by mid-June.

LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said in a radio interview on Friday they will soon release a memorandum on the new policy.

“Kailangan ‘yung pagbebenta o pagsasangla ng sasakyan kailangan po naka rehistro sa LTO. ‘Pag hindi ‘yan naka-rehistro o hindi nareport ang pagkabenta, eh may penalty po ‘yan na ipapataw natin,” he said over Radyo 630.

(The sale or mortgage of vehicles needs to be registered with the LTO. If it’s unregistered or its sale is unreported, we will impose a penalty.)

READ: LTO hastens release of registration papers, license plates

According to Mendoza, the registration will be conducted online to ease the burden of listed vehicle owners.

“We’d like to do it online, no? Para madali lang ‘yung introduksyon at hindi mahirapan ‘yung tao. Inaayos lang po namin itong online system na pwede nilang i-correct ‘yung kanilang data sa kanilang rehistro o lisensya para hindi na sila mismong pumunta sa LTO,” he said.

(We’d like to do it online so that the introduction is easy and the car owner won’t find it difficult to follow. We are just fixing the online system where they can correct their data in their registration so they don’t have to go to the LTO office personally.)

“Pagkaayos po nyan—we’re looking sometime in the middle of June na ma-implement na po natin ito [at] ma-start na po natin ‘yung implementation ng pagrereport ng mga paglilipat-lipat ng sasakyan,” he added.

(When that’s done, we’re looking at sometime in the middle of June when we can implement this and start the implementation of reporting vehicle transfers.)

Mendoza said the LTO will give ample time for all registered vehicle owners to comply with the policy change. He added that the agency only wants all information on their registration database to be accurate.

“Ganyan din kasi ang nangyari doon sa pinatay na isang LTO official eh, ‘yung motorsiklo na involved eh nabenta na raw o inilipat na raw sa ibang tao,” he noted as he stressed the importance of the new policy.

(A similar case happened to an LTO official who was killed. The motorcycle involved in the case was said to have been sold or transferred to someone else.)

Mendoza’s announcement also came after a fatal road rage in Makati City, in which a businessman from Pasig City named Gerard Raymond Yu was arrested for the death of a 65-year-old motorist. Yu is now facing a murder complaint as he was identified as the driver of a black Mercedes-Benz sedan involved in the incident.

Authorities, however, found out that Yu was not the registered owner of the vehicle. To set things straight, the LTO summoned the registered car owner to explain the supposed sale or transfer with a notarized affidavit.