Cayetano calls for 30-day moratorium on ‘no plate, no travel’ policy

SENATE Majority Leader Alan Cayetano on Wednesday called for a 30-day   moratorium on the “No Plate, No Travel” policy being implemented by the Land Transportation Office (LTO), saying “it’s unduly punishing motorists for the agency’s inefficiency.”

Cayetano made the call after the LTO and its license plate contractor reportedly failed to deliver and process license plates on new vehicles.

“People should not bear the burden of government inefficiency. Vehicle owners are penalized for not having license plates that the LTO and its private contractor failed to deliver on time,” he said in a statement.

“Media earlier reported the delay in the issuance of license plates by the LTO, creating an unnecessary backlog. Plus car dealers cite the insufficient LTO manpower involved in the releasing of plates. Thus, even though plates have been made available, issuing [these] to vehicles has been a slow process,” he pointed out.

The senator said a 30-day moratorium should straighten out “kinks” in the process, without unduly punishing motorists with fines.

The moratorium, he said, will give the private contractor time to produce the new plates, the LTO to overcome the backlog and car dealers to immediately claim the car plates of buyers. Car dealers earlier claimed they have paid LTO for the plates.

And to make sure the public would not be punished unwittingly because of government inefficiency, Cayetano said he will file a bill which will hold government officials and private contractors liable and accountable when there is a delay in government agency’s actions, which ultimately causes inconvenience to the public.

“Let’s make sure government officials and private contractors are doing their job,” he said. “And when they don’t, they should be the ones penalized and not the public.”

The LTO’s “No Plate, No Travel” policy took effect last April 1.

READ: LTO starts ‘no registration-no travel’ policy April 1

Under this regulation, vehicle owners will pay a P10,000 fine if their vehicles do not have updated plates and another P1,000 fine for the driver. If the driver is able to present only a certificate of registration and an official receipt as proof of registration, the driver will be fined P5,000 for failure to attach their license plates. AC