Asec. Vigor Mendoza II FILE PHOTO
The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Saturday reminded motorists to attach the license plates on their motor vehicle amid reports of deliberate refusal of some vehicle owners to put them even after they were already released.
In a statement, LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II, said motor vehicle ownership comes with numerous responsibilities and one of them is attaching the license plates as soon as they are already released.
P5,000 penalty
鈥淚n our coordination with the Philippine National Police, through their Highway Patrol Group, and even in our own operations, we discovered that some motor vehicles are deliberately ignoring that responsibility,鈥� Mendoza said.
鈥淭he plates are not souvenir items. These should be attached to our motorcycles and vehicles as soon as they are released by the card dealers and LTO. Under the law, there is a penalty if this is not complied with,鈥� he added.
Mendoza was referring to Republic Act No. 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code of the Philippines, which sets a P5,000 penalty for motor vehicle owners for not attaching or improper attachment of the license plates.
Backlog solved
The LTO chief said while there was indeed a problem on license plates starting 2014, he emphasized the backlog for four-wheel motor vehicles has long been addressed.
The backlog for motorcycle license plates is expected to be wiped out on or before July this year.
鈥淲e have a database of the plates that have been released, and you will pay a P5,000 penalty if it is proven that you were lazy or really had no intention to attach the plates that have been released to you,鈥� the Mendoza said.
The LTO earlier disciplined car dealers who failed to release license plates to their clients as soon as possible.