House Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto (Facebook)






The Land Transportation Office (LTO) should be considerate enough not to impose fines on motorists who fail to claim their license plates immediately. Thus, said House Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto in reaction to reports that the LTO was considering the imposition of such fine. "LTO should not push through with its reported plan to impose a fine on unclaimed car plates," Recto said in a statement Thursday, Aug. 3. "Kay tagal hinintay ng mga motorista ang matagal ng bayad at pinakaaasam na mga plaka. Kaya konsidersyon ang dapat isukli at hindi ang pananakot na kung hindi agad makuha, may parusa na dagdag singil na naghihintay," he said. (The motorists waited so long to get their hands on their long paid-for plates. As such, consideration should be given, and not threats of fines, to those who won't be able to get their plates at once.) The ranking congressman made sure to point out that the LTO wasn't exactly blameless in the painfully long delay in the release of the plates. That's why the agency should demand the immediate claiming of the items. "Car owners, in fact, have displayed patience in waiting for years for plates already paid for, without demanding for refund or interest," Recto said. "LTO should reciprocate this forbearance with kindness and consideration, not with punishment, and, above all, with expeditious production and release of the car plates," he noted. "In the first place, the backlog is still big, and such move (fine), it seems, is calculated to give the impression that car plates are a-plenty, when what is available barely scratches the surface of the shortage," added the former Senate President Pro Tempore.