The Land Transportation Office (LTO) urged vehicle owners to refrain from availing "non-appearance" services for motor vehicle registration and renewal amid the proliferation of scams both near its offices and on social media.

LTO chief Jayart Tugade said that aside from the fact that it is a violation of the law, those who would avail may lose huge sum of money to scammers.

"The transactions for these non-appearance' happen both on-ground and online. On-ground transactions happen allegedly within the perimeter of smoke emission testing centers, while those online occur mostly on popular social media platforms," said Tugade.

“Time and again, the LTO continues to remind clients not to patronize these spurious characters who offer their illegal services in exchange for a fee to be able to circumvent the process. We wish to reiterate that the motor vehicle registration process was put into place to protect clients and their hard-earned money, and to guarantee the safety and roadworthiness of their vehicle,” he added.

Tugade explained that non-appearance services at the LTO violates several laws that include Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code or the crime of estafa or swindling, and Republic Act 11032 or the “Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.”

He warned those who plan to avail of such illegal services of legal repercussions if they are caught.

Tugade also warned LTO employees who may be in cahoots with these criminals, reiterating the need to put an end to this nefarious scheme that is depriving the country of much-needed revenues to fill the nation’s coffers.

“If putting an end to this corrupt practice means removing LTO personnel from government service, then so be it. Again, I’d like to remind LTO personnel that I have zero tolerance on corruption. We will weed them out of the Agency if they put the LTO’s name in a bad light,” said Tugade.