LTO to get more powers via new House bill
Rep. Mariño wants to give the LTO more powers under new bill
A lot of eyes are now on the Land Transportation Office (LTO). Essentially, the LTO is under the Department of Transportation (DOTr), and with this setup, the LTO follows the mandates of the DOTr regarding the implementation of certain rules and regulations on Philippine roads.
Congressman Mario Vittorio “Marvey” A. Mariño wants to strengthen the LTO, via House Bill 917 or the Land Transportation Management System of the Philippines act. It provides them the power to come up with a uniform code that shall govern the streets nationwide.
This will then allow the LTO to generate an updated set of rules and regulations and enforce them properly. Some of the highlights of the bill are as follows:
Section 3 of the bill will have the LTO draft and develop the following.
- Uniform Traffics Rules and Regulations
- Uniform Violations
- Uniform Penalties
Right now we have different bodies, implementing different traffic schemes in different areas. There is no order in this current system so the agency will put together a one-for-all rule book that all other agencies will follow when it comes to the aforementioned aspects above. This will be implemented nationwide and will be the basis of all traffic-related issues moving forward.
Section 4 will empower the LTO, LTFRB, PNP, MMDA, and LGU to create one unified database for all agencies to use. This will ensure faster transactions when it comes to compliance checking and monitoring vehicle safety standards as it will show the history to all agencies in event of an accident. This will also help ease the tracing when it comes to registrations, franchises, and vehicles used by their rightful owners or authorized drivers.
Section 5 will be sort of an extension of Section 4, where a unified list of driver’s licenses and their history of tickets issued. With the availability of mobile data, the agencies will be able to coordinate in real-time to add violations to drivers when caught. This process will also be watched over as the LTO can track them and allow or deny license renewal based on their apprehension history.
Section 6 states that the bill will also be instituting a BOLO system. A Be On the Look Out of BOLO system shall be in effect once the bill turns into law. This will also be connected to sections 4 and 5 as all agencies will have real-time access to the unified list via mobile data technology. This, in turn, will result in faster apprehensions for erring drivers, hot cars and more violators.
Section 7 will have the bill provide the authorized apprehending officers with equipment for wireless or real-time access to the unified database to enable them to check records. Section 7 further states that depending on the violation, they will only have limited access to checking the validity of the license, OR/CR of the vehicle in question, and a record of violations.
Section 8 In cases involving accidents or solving crimes via identification via the unified database, law enforcement offices shall also be granted.
The Congressman hopes that with a new LTO database, repeat violators or “kamote” drivers will become more disciplined as they will now have the power to prevent the renewal of licenses and have more penalties at their disposal to deal with the violations.
The lawmaker wants the LTO to have more power when it comes to acting on these violations as well. This will get some of the issues off the DOTr’s plate so they can focus on the bigger problems at hand. With this, the solon hopes that the traffic problem can be addressed properly while promoting more discipline and safety on the road.
Are you in favor of granting the LTO more power over the traffic crisis?
