MANILA: Senator Grace Poe on Friday urged the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to ensure that policies for its plans to penalize the unregistered sale or mortgage of vehicles are clear.

“The agency needs to ensure that the systems are in place for a smooth rollout of the policy,” Poe said in a statement.

‘Dedicated personnel must be ready to attend to vehicle owners who will personally file the sale. An online system of registration that is interconnected in all LTO offices should be available for easier transactions.’

Poe issued the statement after the LTO announced that the sale or mortgage of vehicles must be registered with the agency to ensure accurate information in its registration database.

The agency said the policy to penalize unregistered sale will be implemented by mid-June.

LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said the new policy is important following the recent killing of an LTO official and a fatal road rage incident in Makati City.

In both cases, the vehicles involved have bee
n sold or transferred to someone else.

Poe noted, however, that while the intention of the new policy is laudable, proper preparations are still needed to ensure that car owners are not unduly burdened by additional penalties being imposed by the LTO.

“Hindi kailangang magpadalos-dalos sa mga polisiya. Mas mahalaga na maayos at subok na ang sistema bago ipatupad (There is no need to rush policies. It is more important that the system is efficient and tested before being implemented),” she said.

Source: Philippines News Agency