'No registration, no travel'

THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) have joined forces in the implementation of the «no registration, no travel» policy against unregistered private and public utility vehicles (PUVs).

In a statement Tuesday, LTO chief Vigor Mendoza 2nd said a meeting with officials of the PCG resulted in the finalization of the strategic plans for the implementation of the policy.

«We still have a long way to go at LTO but with hard work, strategic planning and implementation, and the dedication to road safety of all our personnel, I am confident that we will finally reach our target,» Mendoza said.

The participation of the PCG, he said, is based on the directive of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista.

He said around 30 percent of the daily income of registered PUV operators and drivers is stolen by colorum or unregistered PUVs.

«We understand these concerns and this is the reason why we have been strengthening our coordination and interoperability with the PCG and other law enforcement agencies against these colorum vehicles,» he said.

From January 1 to 23, 182,458 motor vehicles have been apprehended as part of the joint government effort on the «no registration, no travel» policy.

Of the total, 48,714 are four-wheeled vehicles while 133,744 are motorcycles.

During the same period, 1,966 vehicles were impounded — 1,735 motorcycles and 231 four-wheeled vehicles.

«I am personally monitoring both our law enforcement operations and the information drive, and I commend our officials and personnel for this positive result. The figures are encouraging, and I am confident that more delinquent motor vehicles will be registered in the coming days,» he said.

The strict implementation of the policy, he said, is necessary to compel the remaining delinquent motor vehicles to comply with the annual vehicle registration requirement of the LTO.

Based on LTO data, around 24 million motor vehicles nationwide have expired registrations.

As part of the annual registration process, motor vehicles are checked for their roadworthiness.

These 24 million unregistered and unchecked motor vehicles make up 60 percent of the total number of vehicles in the country.